Batum excited about move to Hornets

CHARLOTTE (NBA/EuroBasket 2015) - Nicolas Batum is full of optimism about the next NBA season following his trade from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Charlotte Hornets.

The French international has left a team that reached the playoffs in the Western Conference for a side that missed the post-season in the weaker Eastern Conference.

"We are young but we got more deep," said Batum, 26, addressing the Charlotte media on Friday, the day after the NBA Draft.

in Friday's NBA Draft, the Hornets selected NCAA player of the year Frank Kaminsky with the ninth pick and had also traded for Jeremy Lamb.

"We have a group to make the playoffs for sure," Batum said. "That's my goal."

I want to win right away. - Batum

As such, the 2.03m swingman believes he can mesh easily with the Hornets' high-scoring point guard Kemba Walker, much the way he did with Damian Lillard in Portland.

"We played well off each other," he said of Lillard.

"I am a very versatile player. Me and Kemba can do great things together."

Batum, who has only played for the Trail Blazers in his seven-year NBA career, says he was not shocked when he learned of his trade to Charlotte.

That Trail Blazers are in a state of flux with their top player, LaMarcus Aldridge, a free agent and possibly on the way out.

Batum will soon shift his attention to France and their EuroBasket title defence.

The team will host Group A in Montpellier and if they finish among the four, France will play in the knockout round in Lille.

"Yes I will be there," Batum told FIBA.com.

"I play every summer with the national team.

"I start training with the national team on 1 August so I have time to rest."

Batum was a star for France at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, helping his homeland upset hosts Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

He next poured in 35 points against Serbia in the Semi-Finals but the French lost.

In the battle for third place against Lithuania, however, Batum had 27 points to lead France to victory.

He was named to All-Star Five.

Batum is the third French player to be on the Hornets roster.

Alexis Ajinca, now with New Orleans, was originally drafted by the Bobcats/Hornets in 2008 and spent two seasons with the club.

Boris Diaw spent the better part of four seasons with the then-Bobcats from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

"He [Diaw] was the first guy I called when I heard the news," Batum said.

"He told me good things about the city, about the organization, where to live, where to go, where to eat."

As for having a new coach and new teammates in the Queen City, Batum said: "I'm easy.

"I'm coachable. It's really easy to adjust for me. Basketball is just a game. All the sets are [pretty much] the same so it will be easy for me."

At his unveiling to the Charlotte media, Batum was asked if his relaxed nature and versatility were cultural traits.

"Boris and I, we are all-around players. We don't have the same position but I think we play the same game," he explained.

"We can score when we want to but we like to make the other guys better around us. That's my philosophy, that's Boris's philosophy. Maybe too much. We can forget about ourselves sometimes."

Also new is that Batum gets to wear the number 5 for the first time in his NBA career, the number he wears for France.

When he heard that Charlotte, which will also host the NBA All Star Game in 2017, was interested in him, Batum started doing his homework and watching film.

"I am very excited," he said. "The future is bright for this team."

Conquering Europe again will come first, though.

Go to eurobasket2015.org for more coverage of EuroBasket 2015.

FIBA