FanShot

Blazers F Nicolas Batum To Have At Least 4 Suitors?

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Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports on Twitter that Portland Trail Blazers restricted free agent forward Nicolas Batum will have at least three suitors. ------------------------------ But one league source said to expect Minnesota [Timberwolves], Cleveland [Cavaliers] and Toronto [Raptors] to chase Batum vigorously. ------------------------------ The Sacramento Kings have also been linked to interest in Batum recently. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee called Batum an "ideal target" for the Kings on Twitter. Batum said back in April that he was "99 percent" sure that the Blazers would match any offer made to him and the team's ownership and management has consistently referred to him as one of the roster's core pieces. The Blazers extended a qualifying offer to Batum last week. Batum, 23, averaged 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in 30.4 minutes for the Blazers last season. Follow along and discuss the latest NBA league-wide free agency rumors and reports in this post. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter