Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Charlotte Hornets remained active in the National Basketball Association (NBA) offseason by acquiring Portland Trail Blazers’ Nicolas Batum in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson on Thursday (June 25 PHT).
Batum, who hopes to fill in the void left by Lance Stephenson who got traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, averaged 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists in 30.8 minutes in 481 games in seven seasons with the Blazers.
He was drafted by the Houston Rockets as the 25th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, but moved to Portland in a three-team trade.
Trail Blazer President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey praised the impact that Batum has had during his time in Rip City.
“Nic Batum was a key contributor to all of our recent success,” said Olshey. “He will truly be missed as a person and a player. We wish Nic all the best for the future.”
In exchange for Batum, Portland got the services of second year center Noah Vonleh and veteran guard Gerald Henderson.
Vonleh was selected as the ninth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft and played 25 games for the Hornets, holding averages of 3.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists in 10.4 minutes.
Henderson, meanwhile, boasts career averages of 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 27.5 minutes, and ranked 26th in the league in free throw percentage last season at 84.8%.
