In Nicolas Batum, the LA Clippers have made a signing with minimal risk that has the potential upside to help the team win.
The LA Clippers have likely made their final free agency signing of the offseason. The team came to an agreement with Nicolas Batum after he was waived by the Charlotte Hornets.
Batum is coming off of the worst season of his career, in which he only played 22 games and put up a statline of 3.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3 assists on some horrendous shooting. After recovering from injury early in the season, he racked up plenty of DNP-Coach’s Decisions.
The Clippers are banking on Batum performing better in a more competitive situation than Charlotte. It’s a fair thing to hope for. He won’t be asked to be a main option with the Clippers; if he can just do what he does best, he’ll be a huge asset for the Clips.
Earlier I wrote about a fourth wing being the Clippers’ biggest need. The signing of Batum is a shot at addressing that. As recently as the 17-18 season, he put up 11.6/5.5/5. The season before that was 15/6/6. He’s dropped off since then, of course, but if he can be 75% of the Batum he was in the late Portland, early Charlotte days, then the Clippers have their guy.
That’s the upside of the Batum signing. If he can return to some semblance of form, he helps the LA Clippers win right now. And in exchange for that potential, the LA Clippers taking basically no risk.
Batum’s going to be on the veteran’s minimum contract. If it turns out that he wasn’t in a slump in Charlotte, if that’s the player he really is now, then the Clippers can cut him and move on. He’s not stuck on the books; if a better option presents itself, Batum will not be the reason the Clippers don’t make the move.
On the court, the risk is also low. Batum has only gone over 20% in Usage Percentage 3 times in his 12 years, and the most recent time was four years ago. He’s not going to be the type to insist on getting a ton of shots up and wrecking the flow of the offense.
There’s effectively no risk here. Batum’s the kind of player the LA Clippers need, and if he doesn’t work out, they can easily move on. Whatever your feelings on Nicolas Batum, it’s hard to feel bad about this move.