Batum: Contract with Charlotte Hornets won’t be a new source of pressure

There are a lot more zeroes in Nic Batum’s net worth after he signed a five-season, $120 million contract in July with the Charlotte Hornets.

Net worth is the only thing his coach wants to change regarding shooting guard Batum.

“Play how you play. You don’t change the nature of how someone plays. I think more guys get messed up with that,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “He has a way to play where he can play well and we can play well. He’s not a numbers-type guy to me.”

No single statistic popped off the page in Batum’s previous season with the Hornets. But the totality of his averages – 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game – were key to the Hornets winning 48 regular-season games.

The last thing Clifford wants is Batum feeling pressure to play differently because he’s the highest-paid player in team history.

“People say, ‘He’s making this, he’s making this.’ I’m sure he wants to play a little bit better, too, and there are things we can do to help. But if he plays at the level that he played last year when he was healthy, then we have the chance to be a really good team,” Clifford said. “Nothing else changes because the money changed. We gave him that money because he played so well. I thought he was an All-Star player when healthy.”

Batum says there is no reason to be concerned. After signing a four-year, $46 million contract previously with the Portland Trail Blazers, he knows the drill about managing expectations.

“When I signed my contract four years ago I was still a young guy and that was a big contract. I think there was more pressure then, because I didn’t know what to expect,” Batum said. “Now I know what I’ll go through. I know the media (might pay added attention). So will the public. I’m good with that; it isn’t some big pressure. The team trusts me and believes in me. That relieves the pressure.”

Batum said in some ways the role Clifford gave him last season, orchestrating the Hornets offense, was a bigger deal than the resulting contract.

“I’ll try to be aggressive, but I understand why I got this contract. I don’t think my teammates or coaches want me to change.,” Batum said. “They want me to keep being a playmaker.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Batum: Contract with Charlotte Hornets won’t be a new source of pressure."