LOS ANGELES, CA — If there was ever a member of the LA Clippers who embodied what it meant to be a Clipper, it was Nicolas Batum. A player who had a strong connection with his teammates, coaching staff, front office, and fanbase alike, Batum was everything you'd want in a player, and that's before you even get to the basketball side of things.
Sunday marks the return of Batum to Los Angeles to take on Tyronn Lue and the Clippers, the head coach and team that he deemed his saviors following a brutal stint in Charlotte with the Hornets. It'll be an emotional game for the French forward who, on multiple occasions, said he wanted to retire with the Clippers.
“You know, it wasn't easy at first,” Nicolas Batum told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview ahead of Sunday's game. “It's tough when you get traded during the season, like, at the beginning of the season, when you're a big part of the team — and I was a big part of the team, too. But I was moving to a good team, a good situation, and I got a role right away, so I could really move on into different stuff right away. But that's the business of basketball.”
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A Surprise In The Trade
The rumors involving James Harden and his trade request to the Clippers surrounded this team for weeks. There were variations of the trade that were expected to happen eventually, but none of which seemed likely to happen once training camp began.
The Clippers re-signed Russell Westbrook in the offseason and were fully planning on having him be the team's starting point guard. A couple of forwards — namely Marcus Morris and Robert Covington — had been on the trade block for a while and were fully expected to be a part of whatever James Harden deal the Clippers could eventually get done. A player that was not expected to be included in the Harden trade was Nicolas Batum.
As ClutchPoints reported last month, there was essentially no James Harden deal to the Clippers that the Sixers would agree to without the inclusion of PJ Tucker as well. There were contracts on the Clippers that fit into a Harden deal that would've also allowed them to retain Nicolas Batum.
Additionally, some of the delays in getting a Harden deal done were initially because the Clippers were trying to find ways not to take his contract on, including potentially re-routing him to a third team, per source. ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reported on this and the James Harden trade in detail at the time of its completion.
Nicolas Batum was among the players included in the trade, but the trade that went down at around 11PM PST and his inclusion in it were not things he found out about until the next morning, when he woke up in order to take his kids to school and attend the Clippers' morning shootaround.
“Definitely, yes,” Batum said when asked if this trade was tougher than any other he's been a part of. “Yes, because it's during the season. You have two kids in school, you've got a wife. You've got everything set up, and you don't really plan for it. And when I heard [rumors about the trade], I wasn't supposed to be part of it anyway.
“But you gotta do your job. You gotta do your job, so you move on. I mean, I never asked to leave. I was good where I was, so just to be in that situation when someone else [requested a trade], you know? And it's different, you know? I'm like, yeah, but I have nothing to do with it, but this is the NBA. I mean, that's what you get paid for, that's the wrong side. But like I said, I got moved to a good team as well. So, you know, I still got a role, I'm still playing. It's not like I got benched right away. No, I was starting. I was playing a lot. I'm still playing a lot though.”
Following the trade, Batum took several days away from the team, prompting retirement rumors. It was later revealed that his wife had been dealing with some health concerns that the Clippers were aware of and dealt him in the middle of.
There have been rumblings around his retirement for a couple years now, and while he tells ClutchPoints he'll evaluate that decision at season's end, Nicolas Batum fully intended to retire with the Clippers. He found a home with the franchise in 2020, had his family established, and wanted to ride off into the sunset wearing a diamond-encrusted championship ring while donning red, white, and blue.
“I'm still playing on a good team, so I can't complain, but just the family side. I really envisioned myself retiring here. I bought into the project of the Clippers, and you know how I feel about Ty [Lue]. If I wasn't for Ty, I would've been retired four years ago. I'm still playing now and I've got my kids who still got a chance to see me play. My son, he's getting older, so now he's enjoying living more around the game of basketball and if it wasn't for Ty and his staff, I would be retired right now.”
Batum still has conversations with members of the Clippers, including Tyronn Lue, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, and Moussa Diabate. He's also kept tabs on the team despite being traded, routinely watching their games from across the country.
While acknowledging how good James Harden has been, Batum says the Clippers ceiling is ultimately raised because Kawhi Leonard looks like the guy he's seen take over playoff series.
“They moved on for a very good player and I understand the business side because I'm just a role player,” Batum told ClutchPoints of James Harden's fit with the Clippers. “He's a very, very good player. He brought something different for sure, but they're very good this year because Kawhi is back to where he was. I think that's what made that fit so good. He is back to Kawhi. And when Kawhi is Kawhi, whoever you want to be around you is going to be interesting anyway.”
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Playing With Joel Embiid And Tyrese Maxey
Even though he's no longer a teammate of Leonard's, Batum is playing alongside an All-Star in Tyrese Maxey and an MVP in Joel Embiid, who could return from his injury soon.
“When I got here, I played a lot. I was of starting right away. And when you play with two guys like [Tyrese] Maxey and Joel [Embiid], you know, this is where I'm good at, playing around guys like that. I got a great connection with Joel. We know each other for a while. We're both from Cameroon, we spoke French together and it's easy to play with him. I mean, the dude is a monster. All I have to do is just give him the ball or find a way to give him the ball. That's fun. He's gonna come back soon, I hope. We'll get back to having some more fun again, and we'll see what happens.”
Joel Embiid has been out since February 1st with a meniscus injury in his left knee, but Batum is hopeful he'll be able to return soon for the playoff run.
Tyrese Maxey was named to his first All-Star game this year at age 23, and Nicolas Batum sees a lot of San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker in his game.
“I told him when I got here, I said, ‘you remind me of a young Tony [Parker] in your way,' He's fast. Fast with the ball, he's crafty, like he has this mid-range game, but he shoots the three way better than TPA. So I told that and I told that to TP as well. I said, ‘you should sit down with the kid! You two should meet!'
“It's just the beginning right now for him. Like I told people when I got here. They're all like, ‘what do you think about him like?' He's going to be an All-Star very soon for a very long time. Philly's in good hands with a guy like him on the roster.”
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Batum Gave His All To Clippers
Batum was a member of the Clippers team that reached its first Conference Finals in franchise history. The team ultimately fell short following the injury to Kawhi Leonard, but Nicolas Batum played a significant role as small-ball center in the playoffs against towering centers like Kristaps Porzingis, Boban Marjanovic, and Rudy Gobert.
In his mind, there was no singular favorite moment that he could describe during his time with the Clippers. Instead, Batum referenced his entire tenure in Los Angeles as his favorite and important because of the opportunity to discover himself as well as the joy basketball brought to him and his family.
“They gave me one last chance,” Batum explained. “I just tried to really, like, be there for whatever I can do for that team, starting one through five, playing point, playing center, whatever. I was trying just to do my job and be there for them. We had some ups and downs. I think I did a good job in three years. I had bad moments, I got good moments, yes, but that was a great part of my life, a great part of my career for sure. I just hope they know I gave everything I had to this franchise. I bought into the project and I'm not there anymore, they moved on for a very good player.”
Coming out of Charlotte, where fans couldn't wait for the Hornets to get rid of him, Nicolas Batum was faced with a lot of uncertainly about his future.
Could he play at a high level anymore? Was it worth trying to see if the Hornets were just a bad fit? How much longer could he keep this up?
Rudy Gobert was the first player to reach out to Batum once he was waived by the Hornets to request his services with the Utah Jazz.
Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank, newly-promoted head coach Tyronn Lue, as well as superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all reached out to Batum shortly after to express their desire to have him join the Clippers.
“You can help us win a championship and I’m not talking about being on the bench. I’m talking about being on the court,” Batum recalled being told in their phone conversation.
“Have you seen me the last 18 months and what’s happened to me?” replied Batum with a laugh.
“Yeah, but we don’t care. We know you, you’re a great basketball player, high IQ, you’d be perfect with those guys,” Lawrence Frank responded.
As it turned out, Batum turned into the perfect role player and a fan favorite. Batum Batallion, a French-themed section of the fanbase, was born seemingly overnight, and he embraced them right back.
“My last experience, where I came from, it was like a very bad start for me, fanbase-wise, for different reasons,” Batum joked, referring to his Hornets tenure. “[Clippers fans] pretty much endorsed me right away and created something around me. I was pretty shocked and that was great, I loved it. I loved it. The Batum Battalion stuff. I kind of miss it sometimes. I miss it sometimes, yes, but I got a great experience in three years. And you can see, they still send me some messages or whatever, so they're cool.
“They're special though. They're special. They show me love for three years and they're still showing me some love. Sunday is going to be cool to see them, for sure.”
Would Nicolas Batum be open to a return to the Clippers down the line?
“Hey, I'm not a GM, I'm just a player.”
To the Clippers family, pic.twitter.com/MQspWdzZxp
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) November 2, 2023
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