Batum to Hornets

[NuggetsFan]

Edit: Basically, Charlotte would have had mega bucks to spend next summer without any of these trades this summer. Their activity suggests their GM is desperate.

Henderson does nothing but score and that's probably pretty inflated playing on those Charlotte teams. I'm guessing the GM/FO really soured on Vonleh and don't see him having much success in the NBA so flipped him for Batum. Batum's still only 26. Great piece to have if they can find a way to re-sign him.

Where they'll look potentially stupid is if they ended up giving up on Vonleh way to fast. Be pretty smart tho if he winds up fizzling out.

[rufuspaul]

Henderson does nothing but score and that's probably pretty inflated playing on those Charlotte teams. I'm guessing the GM/FO really soured on Vonleh and don't see him having much success in the NBA so flipped him for Batum. Batum's still only 26. Great piece to have if they can find a way to re-sign him.

Where they'll look potentially stupid is if they ended up giving up on Vonleh way to fast. Be pretty smart tho if he winds up fizzling out.

There's a risk vs reward scenario with any move. Who knows how it will play out? I'm curious to see the MKG Batum pairing, 2 athletic defensive minded wings.

[SwishSquared]

Henderson does nothing but score and that's probably pretty inflated playing on those Charlotte teams. I'm guessing the GM/FO really soured on Vonleh and don't see him having much success in the NBA so flipped him for Batum. Batum's still only 26. Great piece to have if they can find a way to re-sign him.

Where they'll look potentially stupid is if they ended up giving up on Vonleh way to fast. Be pretty smart tho if he winds up fizzling out.

I think Henderson is a decent bench wing but I'm not sure if it's worth packaging him with what could be a wasted lotto pick to rent Batum. I think they will have to pay a lot to keep Batum, who probably would want to be on a team that has more of a shot at winning than the Hornets do during his next contract.

I think that Charlotte either is giving up on Vonleh too quick, like you said, or just wasted a lotto pick in drafting him. In the latter case, it's good to get an upgrade in Batum, but just means Rich Cho does a terrible job drafting.

I'm a Batum fan and this makes Charlotte better this year, but Charlotte needs a better plan for building.

[CLTHornets4eva]

Oh man I love it for NO

Charlotte

[RoseCity07]

He has a ridiculously diverse skillset, but he lacks the heart to make him a scary player. That combo means he gets overpaid because people hope his heart starts up, but year after year he has been disappointing. Heck, Chandler Parsons, who is much more limited in skill, outplayed him in the playoffs a couple years ago. I remember 1 year since his newest contract where I was OK with him.

My biggest disappointment is that I think we could have got more if he were traded years ago.

Diverse skillset yes, but I now you noticed how he'd have like 8 assists and 5 TOs the same night. Also, I haven't seen Nic get a chase down block in a long time. Maybe that's scouting but he definitely fell off from just a few years ago.

[bluechox2]

this seems like their letting mathews walk, got a replacement

[bdreason]

Alrdridge headed out of town?

Surprised the Hornets gave up on their draft pick so soon.

[poido123]

They will regret trading vonleh

Dumb trade hornets

[stevieming]

He has a ridiculously diverse skillset, but he lacks the heart to make him a scary player. That combo means he gets overpaid because people hope his heart starts up, but year after year he has been disappointing. Heck, Chandler Parsons, who is much more limited in skill, outplayed him in the playoffs a couple years ago. I remember 1 year since his newest contract where I was OK with him.

My biggest disappointment is that I think we could have got more if he were traded years ago.

err no he didn't..parsons trash talked and that actually made Batum motivated for a change, and he out played parsons....

agree with you on the other stuff though...just doesn't bring it enough..but he was injured last season..

[rufuspaul]

They will regret trading vonleh

Dumb trade hornets

Maybe, maybe not. Vonleh was a project on a team that is already full of projects (Zeller, Hairston, Biyombo) and young players who haven't reached their full potential (Kemba, MKG). I like Gerald Henderson. He's a respected locker room leader but in the end he's an undersized 2 guard who can't shoot. As for Vonleh, Cho said you have to give up something to get something. The question is what is that something? It's an unknown at this point.

[poido123]

Maybe, maybe not. Vonleh was a project on a team that is already full of projects (Zeller, Hairston, Biyombo) and young players who haven't reached their full potential (Kemba, MKG). I like Gerald Henderson. He's a respected locker room leader but in the end he's an undersized 2 guard who can't shoot. As for Vonleh, Cho said you have to give up something to get something. The question is what is that something? It's an unknown at this point.

Gerald Henderson was a good part of the trade. That's one positive, his game doesn't translate to winning IMO. Those shots he takes out of flow cost Hornets games IMO.

[rufuspaul]

CBS Sports weighs in on the trade:

Charlotte Hornets receive Nicolas Batum

A couple of weeks ago, the Hornets were looking at ways to have Lance Stephenson on their roster and make it a positive. After being the worst 3-point shooter in NBA history, Stephenson's inability to fit in with Kemba Walker and the rest of the Hornets' offense was incredibly awkward. He had just one year left on his deal (the team option in the third year essentially made this an expiring deal), and it was the only way to say he had value to this team. Rich Cho moved him to the Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes, relieving Steve Clifford from trying to find a solution on the court.

In the blink of an eye, the Hornets now have Nicolas Batum as the wing next to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and a true playmaker on the perimeter the Hornets hoped to be getting when they signed Stephenson from Indiana. Batum has battled shoulder, wrist and knee injuries over the last few seasons, and those seemed to really build up and affect his shooting and overall game this past season. He shot the worst percentages (40 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from 3) of his career and didn't score in double figures (9.4) for the first time since his rookie season (5.4).

He was second on the team in assists and third in rebounds. Batum was still the playmaker the Blazers needed him to be, and while he wasn't the defender they needed him to be, he was still an obstacle for scorers to get through. Assuming he can be healthy for the Hornets in 2015-16, Batum should provide some big time offensive production for a horrendous offensive team.

You're not expecting Batum to be a 20-point per game scorer, but getting 14 efficient points and a handful of assists gets this Hornets offense going. He's also typically an outside shooter (36.3 percent from his career) you have to respect and he joins a team that was last in 3-point percentage. Marvin Williams was the only shooter they had last season with at least league average accuracy and 100 3's or more attempted.

He has just one season left on his deal, and he can play anywhere from 2-guard to a stretch-4 for Clifford's attack. His playmaking takes pressure off Kemba Walker as a playmaker and helps him become more of a scorer. He can either help set up MKG or allow him to focus even more on defense, which is a terrifying proposition for the rest of the NBA. While giving up on Noah Vonleh this early is tough, they have upgraded their wing position and still have the ninth pick in the draft to add to their core.

Grade: A

Portland Trail Blazers receive Gerald Henderson, Noah Vonleh

This is a fascinating turn of events for the Blazers. Batum was a big guy for them to retain a few years ago when the Wolves were attempting to sign him away from Portland in restricted free agency. By keeping Batum with LaMarcus Aldridge and adding Damian Lillard to the team, they had a very solid core moving forward in Terry Stotts' system. The problem for Portland is injuries befell them once again, and Batum's effectiveness was taken down a peg or two.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted out that Aldridge was aware of this deal and it has nothing to do with his impending free agency this summer. As soon as the deal was announced, it was safe to wonder whether or not the Blazers were getting ready for a quick rebuild surrounding Lillard by parting ways with Batum, Aldridge in free agency and possibly both Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo. Instead, this could just be a move to add depth to the roster.

Losing either Afflalo or Matthews seems inevitable. Being able to add a defender like Gerald Henderson to the mix is an upgrade defensively over what Batum gave you. But he's not the playmaker Batum was and he's certainly not the shooter Batum has shown to be. Henderson has become a guy hitting at least 33 percent of his 3s the last three seasons, but topping out at 34.8 percent isn't a great sign for a Portland offense that likes to stretch the floor. His $6 million on the table for next season is the last year of his contract and a very manageable asset if the Blazers decide to flip him later.

Noah Vonleh could be the real key to all of this. Vonleh was projected as a very nice big man coming out of Indiana. He wasn't given much time in his first year under Clifford (expected), partially due to a sports hernia that had him out for the preseason. He's a versatile big, who can stretch the floor a bit and projects to be a very good rebounder. In his limited minutes, Vonleh rebounded extremely well but struggled to hit midrange shots and attempts around the rim.

With Chris Kaman having a nonguaranteed deal for next season, Robin Lopez hitting free agency, and Meyers Leonard entering a contract extension/restricted free agency zone, Vonleh is great insurance for some big man depth to go next to Aldridge. The tricky part is they need Aldridge to re-sign, they need Lopez to re-sign and they need Vonleh to take a big step forward for next season.

This will give the Blazers more flexibility in the short-term with a long-term goal of developing Vonleh, but it's hard to look at this deal and not worry about the risk the Blazers are taking with this roster potentially falling apart this offseason.

Grade: B-

[kshutts1]

For Portland... if they keep Aldridge, Henderson and Vonleh are good enough to be depth rotational pieces, so Portland can still maintain their playoff status, hopefully.
If Portland loses Aldridge, then they got a young player with upside to be part of a rebuild. I like the deal in either scenario.

Charlotte clearly got the best player in the deal, and the defensive versatility with MKG is pretty scary... but I think they could have gotten a second round pick out of Portland.
It will be interesting to see what they do tonight, because that team is so very close to a solid playoff berth. Will they package the ninth pick with something like Marvin Williams' expiring contract, or a future first, to get a defensive big to complement Al?

They also have 7m in cap space to work with this summer. Could sign someone like Kosta Koufos as a cheap, but solid, big man to hel pout defensively.