The Lakers chances of signing forward Nicolas Batum look slightly dimmer now that Los Angeles will only get a phone call to start 2016 NBA free agency
Nicolas Batum may very well be the most valuable player becoming available in 2016 NBA free agency that not enough people are talking about. Batum was an absolute tour de force on both ends of the floor for the Charlotte Hornets on the wing last season and could be that for any team that signs him this summer. One team that had been connected with him, of course, had been the Los Angeles Lakers.
Given that the Lakers essentially only have rookie Brandon Ingram at the small forward and have little positional versatility right now, adding a player like Batum would be a natural move for them. And as of just Wednesday, that was looking more and more like it might actually happened. Unfortunately, some of that hope has been squashed.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Marc J. Spears reported that it will be the Hornets and Dallas Mavericks that get initial meetings with Batum in person. The Lakers, along with the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards, will merely get a phone call:
Source tells @MarcJSpearsESPN that Nic Batum will meet with Hornets and Mavs in Dallas and will talk to Knicks, Lakers, Wizards on phone.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 30, 2016
That’s certainly less than ideal if you’re the Lakers and want to get Batum in town.
However not ideal it is though, it’s been the trend that we’ve seen leading up to the beginning of free agency on July 1. Both Kevin Durant and Hassan Whiteside have already reportedly nixed the idea of meeting with the Lakers in the coming week. While Batum isn’t fully joining them because he will give them a phone call, that he’s only doing that while meeting with other teams in person isn’t a fantastic sign.
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Perhaps the Lakers can woo the French forward over the phone and eventually earn a face-to-face meeting. However, things aren’t looking up in regards to LA’s ability to sign Batum.