According to ESPN authoritative reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers have reached an agreement with former Philadelphia 76ers forward Nicolas Batum, who was previously in free agency, and Batum has been offered a two-year, $9.6 million contract from the Clippers. Judging from the content salary of this signing, if nothing else, the Clippers should have used the two-year exception in their hands to make this offer to Batum. After completing this signing, Batum will also return to his old club Clippers after a year in the new season.
In this season's NBA regular season, Batum played 60 games for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 25.5 minutes per game, averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, shooting 45.3% from the field, 39.5% from three-point range, and 71.4% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Batum played a total of 6 games for the 76ers, averaging 28.3 minutes per game, averaging 6.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, shooting 41.4% from the field, 40.9% from three-point range, and 62.5% from the free throw line.
Batum's overall stats look dismal, but it also has a lot to do with his tactical position on the pitch and the ball he has gotten. In the playoffs, when the team needs him to step up, the veteran, who will turn 36 by the end of the year, has proven that he is capable of providing all kinds of help to the team, and he is still a very reliable 3-and-D type of forward player, and he is also one of the few players on the 76ers team who can play in key moments. For the Clippers, judging from all aspects of the team last season, they also have a relatively high demand for such a 3-and-D type power forward, and his arrival can also help the team open up space and improve the overall competitiveness of the team on the defensive end.
For the Clippers, they are still a certain distance from the No. 1 local tycoon line, but the problem is that they have used most of the full mid-range exception for the signing of Derrick Jones Jr. (Derrick Jones Jr.), and they used this two-year exception in the signing process of Batum, plus the trade exceptions in their hands add up to less than $1 million, and then their operating space is indeed relatively limited. At present, the Clippers only have 14 players with standard contracts, and they still have a standard contract spot that has not been given, I don't know what the Clippers will do next, since they really have no room for maneuver in the free market, will they use trades to improve the team's competitiveness?