On July 7th, 2016, Rich Cho and the Charlotte Hornets‘ front-office re-signed Nicolas Batum to a five-year, $120 million contract. Considered a bargain price at the time (just slightly lower than a possible maximum offer), the Queen City squad maintained a key piece of the team that nearly won a first-round series.
However, the Frenchman was not able to continue his inspired play into the next season. Plagued with nagging injuries, many ascribed the poor season to unfortunate circumstance; but in the 2017-18 season, Nic Batum played in 13 fewer games and saw his per game averages drop in almost every statistical category.