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NBA Trade: Trail Blazers trade Nicolas Batum to Hornets for Noah Vonleh

By Josh Hill

Mar 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Hornets shipped off Lance Stephenson last week to the Clippers, and have made a move to acquire Nicolas Batum from the Blazers.

The Charlotte Hornets are trying to reconfigure their roster to make sure they don’t miss the postseason for a second straight season, and they’ve been going about the reconstruction via trades. Last week, the Hornets moved Lance Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes, and now they’ve made another move.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports, the Hornets and Trail Blazers are finalizing a massive trade that will sen Nicolas Batum to Charlotte for second-year forward Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson.

There were rumblings that Batum could be on the move earlier in the month, and Portland has made good on those rumors.  It’s interesting that the Hornets were the ones to jump and acquire Batum, as he has a pricey contract but can be a player who Kemba Walker and others feed off of as a veteran leader.

As for the Blazers, they made a move to free themselves from a huge contract, and it seems to further suggest a run at Kevin Love next week. LaMarcus Aldridge may already be gone, and if both Batum and Aldridge don’t return in 2015-16, then adding Love and using the money to lure in another star could be the route to go.

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