Nicolas Batum, Los Angeles Clippres
Nicolas Batum was a fantastic pickup for the Los Angeles Clippers this season and it was something that we here at Lake Show Life foreshadowed. We petitioned for the Lakers to sign Batum, who was bought out by the Charlotte Hornets, before he put pen to paper with the Clippers.
Batum was the classic case of a player getting massively overpaid and then becoming underrated as a result. He was definitely not worth the contract he signed in Charlotte and towards the end he noticeably was not playing with the same urgency, but he still had value to a contending team.
The Clippers have made the most of that value and so would the Lakers. Batum would be an excellent addition just for his three-point shot alone. He is a serviceable defender, and quite frankly, would be a better four to give the minutes that the team is giving Kyle Kuzma solely for the fit.
There is also the potential of running a small-ball lineup with Batum as the small-ball center. The Lakers honestly could just run Anthony Davis at the five but with Davis not preferring to play there, they can run Batum as the five with Davis as the four, even if he guards the other team’s center.
It does not make a ton of sense, but you have to keep your superstar happy. Regardless, Batum brings the same dynamism that Markieff Morris brings as a potential small-ball center with a better shooting stroke.