Nets

Brooklyn Nets Free Agency Primer: Small Forwards

By Devin Kharpertian

Posted on April 27, 2016

Nicolas Batum — Unrestricted Free Agent The skinny: For all the talk of bringing Linsanity back to Brooklyn, the Nets might be better served trying to secure the guy who led Lin's team in assists! That's right: Batum, a 6'8", 27-year-old small forward, led the Hornets with 5.8 assists per game this past season, nearly doubling Lin (3.0) despite playing far more of his minutes off the ball. Batum is a smart, willing passer who often put Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller in positions to score, and is a confident in-control player with three-point range and defensive skills. He was one of just five players to average at least 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game — the other four being LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. Batum a fit? In every sense of the word. As Joe Johnson pointed out earlier this week, the Nets lacked playmakers willing to play team basketball. Batum fits the mold of a modern NBA small forward to a T: he creates for others, hits three-pointers, defends multiple positions, doesn't play for stats, and doesn't rely on explosiveness or quickness enough to suggest his game will sharply decline with age. Like Barnes, the biggest question for Batum isn't if he'll fit on the court — it's if he'll price himself out of Brooklyn. Batum could potentially command a max contract in this free agent market, which would mean the Nets would be on the hook to pay Batum a salary over $30 million when he's on the wrong side of 30. Now under Sean Marks, would the Nets want to get Joe Johnson'd again? Worthy pursuit? Yes. Batum is in his prime and is the type of unselfish player that can make teammates better. He might not be worth a max deal, but if the Nets can get him on a big-but-reasonable deal, he'd be a great fit in their starting lineup and a consistent positive on the floor.

Nicolas Batum — Unrestricted Free Agent

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