Make peace with who Hornets’ Nic Batum is, isn’t. Monday, he was the player you win with

If you’re looking for Nic Batum to play some other way than he did Monday night, then you will never be satisfied with what he is or what he values.

The people who view Batum as a waste of $120 million will look at the box score against the Chicago Bulls and see a guy who took five shots and scored seven points. They will dismiss that Batum finished this game with 12 rebounds and seven assists.

That’s who Batum is and who he always was - the player the Charlotte Hornets traded for to be a connector, the guy who drew the biggest contract so far in local NBA history.

“I can be the best player on this team sometimes without taking shots,” Batum told me after a 110-104 preseason victory at Spectrum Center.

Batum switched positions from shooting guard to small forward. Those two spots aren’t radically different, but the idea that the first word of his job description was “shooting” didn’t match how he views himself impacting wins and losses.

I asked him Monday if he understands there is a large portion of the basketball public that sees scoring as the be-all and end-all in this sport. The Frenchman replied that is more an American point of view, that in Europe getting the assist is valued as much as the basket.

Generalist

Over 10 NBA seasons in Portland and Charlotte, Batum has never averaged more than 15.1 points. The idea that his getting rewarded so generously in the summer of 2016 would cause him to reinvent himself was unrealistic. Batum is a generalist, not a specialist, and Monday’s contribution - three points and three assists short of a triple-double in 26 1/2 minutes - points him in the right direction of what new coach James Borrego wants.

“When he rebounds, he can push the (fast) break for us. He’s engaged in the game and he can really move the ball,” Borrego said. “He got seven assists, but I think he moved the ball even more.”

Batum strongly endorsed Borrego moving him to small forward, where he played his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers. That opened a starting spot for either Jeremy Lamb or Malik Monk, both of whom are more score-first players. Lamb appears to have won the starting job, but Monk should play as much as any Hornets reserve.

There is some adjustment. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Batum will have more of a challenge in terms of weight and bulk defensively in the front court, particularly when Borrego decides to use him as a small-ball power forward.

But he believes this better fits his strengths: Load up the other spots with finishers, and let him facilitate.

“With the team we have this year - with the weapons we have this year - you watch,” Batum said.

“Tonight, I only took five shots. I have to take more than five shots (in a regular-season game), of course. There are going to be nights when Kemba and Jeremy are having off nights, and I‘ll have to be more aggressive. I know that. And I will.”

Balance

Walker applauded how Batum played Monday. He also knows there will be games when Batum must take a different approach.

“He had a huge impact on the game. He’s so unselfish,” Walker said. “We’d love for him to shoot some more. But some nights, he’s not going to have to. He’s got me, he’s got Jeremy, he’s got Marvin (Williams).

“Those (Monday) numbers: That’s the Nic we all know.”

It’s aggressiveness that matters. That doesn’t have to be points all the time. It does have to be impact.

“That sort of engagement we may not always see on the box score,” Borrego said of evaluating Batum, “but he has to play with that kind of force from the beginning of the game.”

This story was originally published October 8, 2018 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Make peace with who Hornets’ Nic Batum is, isn’t. Monday, he was the player you win with."