The guy averaged just 5.8 points the past couple of seasons. He hadnât played an NBA game since Jan. 24, 2020, because even after his elbow and hand injuries were behind him, Charlotte chose to develop younger players instead of calling his number.
And still, Nicolas Batum had multiple suitors lined up in November, hoping heâd pick them.
He was a low-risk, potentially high-reward signing if ever there was: The 6-foot-9 Frenchman could add height and length on the perimeter. Not so long before, heâd cultivated a reputation as a multi-positional defender and a good ball-handler with playmaking chops.
Heâd also bring experience â including 39 postseason games â and a reputation as a savvy player and a class act (âI apologize to the people here,â Batum told the Charlotte Observer last March, âbecause they put so much faith in me. And it didnât go well.â).
All for the low, low price of a minimum salary.
That was the case because the Hornets waived and stretched Batum â whoâd signed in Charlotte on a five-year, $120 million deal in 2016 â to clear space for Gordon Haywardâs new four-year, $120 million contract.
And so the Clippers â as well as, reportedly, Brooklyn, Golden State, Utah, Milwaukee and Toronto â all invited him aboard.
Batum thought heâd fit best in L.A.. He could be the make-the-other-guys-better guy and serve as the do-the-little-things link that was missing last season when the Clippers flamed out in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Coach Tyronn Lue was optimistic Batum would â as advertised â be able to contribute those subtle, winning plays.
But Batum has offered so much more.
Through 11 games, Batum is averaging career bests in 3-point percentage (43.5), steals (1.3), net rating (9.9) and offensive rating (118.7) â a category in which he ranks sixth-best league-wide.
âI didnât really know if he was healthy or what was going on with him,â Lue said before practice Tuesday, via Zoom. âI knew I loved him when he was in Portland and how he played the game. Just didnât really know his health situation ⊠or what was going on with him, because a talented guy like he is, for him not be playing, you would think something was wrong.â
Now, as the Clippersâ starting power forward, itâs as if Batum can do no wrong. Heâs made it a habit to deliver in big moments, like in Sundayâs 130-127 victory over Chicago.
With the Clippers trailing 119-118 and just three minutes left, Kawhi Leonard drove and delivered a backhanded bounce pass to Batum, who was hanging out where heâs so comfortable: In the corner, from which heâs made 13 for 24 (54.2%) of the 3-pointers heâs taken this season, including all five heâs shot in the fourth quarter.
Including Sundayâs. Batum drew a foul on Thaddeus Young as he converted an off-balance, one-handed shot â a sequence that prompted a delighted eruption from the Clippers bench, a scene that seemed as if it had as much to do with the man whoâd …read more
Source:: Los Angeles Daily News
