The Toronto Raptors had quite a disappointing ending to the 2014-15 season after dominating the Atlantic division all season when they were swept by the Washington Wizards in the playoffs. The Raptors have since re-grouped and went in a more defensive direction this offseason adding DeMarre Carroll and hoping he, along with others, could lead Toronto past the first round of the playoffs. The most recent rumor involving Toronto has more to do with 2016 summer plans and the possibility of Nicolas Batum wanting to play in Toronto.
Batum was traded this offseason from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Charlotte Hornets for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh and Zach Lowe of Grantland.com reports that trade was a big risk for the Hornets. Charlotte traded Vonleh, a 19 year old with immense potential, for Batum who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Charlotte does have Batum's Bird rights meaning they can offer him more years and money than an outside team next year but Lowe has been reported that Batum has a strong preference to play in Toronto as he is from France and the city appeals to his international roots.
Batum is just 26 years old and already has seven years of NBA experience. The Frenchman is coming off his worst shooting season with the Blazers but he is a do-it-all type of player and somebody that any team really needs. While Batum only shot 40 percent from the field last year and averaged 9.4 points per game he still also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game and had a career high 3.2 defensive win shares.
Batum is the type of player that can defend the opponent's best player, make shots and also facilitate. For his career he averages 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists per game while making 45 percent of his field goals and 36 percent of his threes.
The signing of Carroll this offseason might make you think that Batum is not an option next offseason as they play the same position but that may not be the case. Dwane Casey has already said that he is going to go with the trend of playing small lineups which could mean that Carroll or Batum would play a lot of power forward should Batum become a Raptor.
Batum has yet to even play a game in Charlotte so this is all pure speculation, but Batum has reportedly made it known he wants to play in Toronto and the Raptors would probably like to find a way to make that work if that is still the case next summer.
