Nicolas Batum Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Contract Details: Quickley, Barnes, Batum, Jones, CP3, Oubre, More

July 10th, 2024 at 7:15am CST by Luke Adams

Initially reported to be worth $175MM over five years, Immanuel Quickley‘s new contract with the Raptors actually has a base value of $162.5MM, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). It also features $12.5MM in unlikely incentives – $2.5MM per year – that would allow the guard to max out at $175MM if he earns all of them. But for now the cap hits for Quickley will be $32.5MM annually.

Meanwhile, the “Rose rule” language in Scottie Barnes‘ new five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Raptors is fairly straightforward, Murphy notes (Twitter link). Barnes will have a starting salary worth 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap if he makes any All-NBA team – first, second, or third – next season, or if he wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. If he doesn’t earn any of those honors, his starting salary will be 25% of the ’25/26 cap, with 8% annual raises from there.

Based on the NBA’s latest salary cap projection, Barnes’ five-year extension would be worth $224,238,150 if it starts at 25% next year’s cap, or $269,085,780 if it starts at 30%.

Here are more details on a few of the contracts recently finalized around the NBA:

Nicolas Batum (15%) and Derrick Jones (5%) each received trade kickers on their new contracts with the Clippers, Hoops Rumors has learned. Batum’s deal is worth the full bi-annual exception ($9,569,400 over two years) with a second-year player option, while Jones’ three-year, $30MM deal was completed using a significant portion ($9,523,810) of the mid-level exception. Los Angeles still has $3,298,190 left on its MLE for now.
Chris Paul‘s one-year contract with the Spurs has a guaranteed base value of $10.46MM, with unlikely incentives that could push his total earnings as high as about $12.03MM, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That structure allowed San Antonio to create the extra cap room necessary to accommodate Harrison Barnes‘ incoming salary while also putting Paul in position to earn more his initially reported salary of $11MM.
Kelly Oubre, whose two-year, $16,365,150 contract is worth the Sixers‘ entire room exception (and features a player option), waived his right to veto a trade in 2024/25, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Kings center Alex Len gave up that right as well on his one-year, minimum-salary contract, Hoops Rumors has learned.
As expected, the contracts signed by new Kings guard Jordan McLaughlin and new Pelicans center Daniel Theis are one-year deals worth the veteran’s minimum.

L.A. Notes: Davis, Lakers, DeRozan, Batum, Clippers, Christie

July 9th, 2024 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

After LeBron James downplayed any concerns over what has been a quiet offseason so far for the Lakers, his star teammate Anthony Davis followed suit from Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times relays. Davis pointed out that injuries to presumptive rotation players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent had an impact on last year’s team and that having better health luck in 2024/25 could make a difference.

“We don’t know what we could have been if we had those guys, especially in the playoffs,” Davis said. “You know especially Vando because he’s a big part of what we do defensively. But, so we look at the lineup, and you know we come in ready to work.

“And last year is last year. We can’t say, ‘Oh this is the same team.’ It could be a different result. For us it’s about coming in with the mindset of getting to work and seeing how it plays out.”

Of the 15 players who finished last season on the Lakers’ roster, 13 remain under contract for the coming season. The only two newcomers to this point are the team’s two draft picks, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:

Although DeMar DeRozan was said to be on the short list of “impact” Lakers targets that LeBron James would have been willing to take a significant discount for, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium stated during an appearance on The Rally (Twitter video link) that it came down to the Kings and Heat for DeRozan. “I’m told the Lakers never went beyond expressing just simple interest in DeRozan,” Charania said. “There were no offers or tangible conversations with the Bulls on a sign-and-trade deal.”
Speaking to reporters after he agreed to re-sign with the Clippers, veteran forward Nicolas Batum indicated that he chose to reunite with his former team and former head coach (Tyronn Lue) after receiving interest from over half the league. “I had several options, a lot of options, I actually had 17,” Batum said (French link via BasketUSA.com).
The Clippers, who had the NBA’s oldest roster last season, haven’t exactly been a player development hub in recent years, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who takes a look at how the team could change that going forward, starting with this year’s second-round pick Cam Christie.

Olympic Notes: France, Japan, Spain, Flagg, Brooks

July 9th, 2024 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The host nation for the 2024 Olympics officially confirmed its roster for the Paris games, announcing a 12-man squad headlined by centers Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs and Timberwolves, respectively (Twitter link).

Besides France’s twin towers, other NBA players on the French squad include Clippers forward Nicolas Batum, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly, and free agent swingman Evan Fournier. Nando De Colo, Frank Ntilikina, and Guerschon Yabusele are among the other players on the team who have previous NBA experience.

As first reported by Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of BeBasket on Sunday (via Twitter), France’s final two cuts were also former NBA players — guards Elie Okobo and Theo Maledon won’t be on the 12-man roster for Paris.

Here are a few more notes on the upcoming Olympic games:

As expected, Japan’s official 12-man roster for the Olympics is headed up by Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and six-year NBA veteran Yuta Watanabe (Instagram link). Former Nebraska Keisei Tominaga, who recently agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, is another notable name on the 12-man squad.
After winning their Olympic qualifying tournament over the weekend, Spain is making just one change for the Olympics, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes. Veteran wing Alex Abrines, who played in the NBA with Oklahoma City from 2016-19, has been medically cleared to play following an injury and will replace 2024 Spurs second-round pick Juan Nunez for the Olympics. The full roster, which includes Santi Aldama of the Grizzlies and the Hernangomez brothers, can be found right here (Twitter link).
Incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg said over the weekend that he was “pretty surprised” to be invited to be part of the Select Team for the U.S. training camp in Las Vegas, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. However, Flagg was the talk of that Vegas camp, earning rave reviews from players and coaches alike, according to Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Select Team assistant coach Jim Boylen referred to the 17-year-old as “unbelievable,” while teammate Jaime Jaquez said Flagg was “playing out of his mind.” Flagg is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. “He showed no fear,” Jalen Duren said. “He came and worked hard every day. You would think he’s already here, you know what I mean?”
After defeating Team USA with the Canadian national team for bronze at the 2023 World Cup, Dillon Brooks is eager to face a more star-studded U.S. in Wednesday’s exhibition game in Las Vegas, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I take it as (just) another game, but me being who I am, I like to make a statement,” Brooks told reporters on Monday. “So I’ll be ready to play. Team Canada will be ready to play, and we’re gonna go balls to the wall and watch the film after and see if we got better.”

L.A. Notes: Lakers, Klay, DeRozan, Clippers, George, Batum

July 2nd, 2024 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are believed to have made a bid for Klay Thompson that would’ve been for more years and more overall money than the three-year, $50MM deal he accepted from the Mavericks, according to reports from Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times and Tim MacMahon of ESPN on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). Los Angeles would have had to send out salary and assets in a sign-and-trade to make such an offer.

The Lakers were “extremely intriguing” to Thompson, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. However, sources tell Wojnarowski that the Mavericks’ NBA Finals run and the financial advantages of living in Texas were among the deciding factors for the veteran sharpshooter, who will be joining a new team for the first time since entering the NBA in 2011.

LeBron James reportedly made a recruiting call to Thompson when free agency opened and the Lakers had a face-to-face meeting with the 34-year-old on Sunday night, per Marc Stein (Twitter link). But, as Stein writes, the Mavs had Thompson’s former USA Basketball teammate Kyrie Irving on their side for recruiting purposes and were able to secure Thompson’s commitment following their own face-to-face meeting.

Here’s more out of Los Angeles:

Having missed out on Thompson, the Lakers shifted their focus to DeMar DeRozan, Jovan Buha of The Athletic confirms. LeBron James would reportedly be willing to accept a pay cut to accommodate the acquisition of DeRozan, so L.A. could theoretically offer the free agent forward more than the full mid-level exception via a sign-and-trade. But negotiating such a deal would be tricky, since the Bulls will want assets in return and likely won’t be open to taking back much – if any – salary due to their own financial situation.
It’s unclear if there are any other free agent targets left on the board for whom James would take a discount, so if the Lakers are unable to land DeRozan, LeBron would likely be on track to sign a maximum-salary contract with the team, Buha notes.
Buha adds that the Lakers have been active in trade talks in recent days, discussing possible deals with the Trail Blazers, Nets, and Jazz, among other clubs. Previous reporting has suggested the Lakers have some level of interest in Jerami Grant (Portland) and Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn); Utah has plenty of cap room available and could potentially take on salary as a third team in a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, though that’s just my speculation. The Jazz are also believed to be open to listening to inquiries on some of their veterans, including Lauri Markkanen (to be clear, the Lakers aren’t among the teams that have been linked to Markkanen so far).
Besides being unwilling to offer Paul George a fourth year, the Clippers also didn’t include a no-trade clause in their proposal to the star forward, ESPN’s Wojnarowski said during a SportsCenter appearance (hat tip to RealGM). George would have been eligible for a no-trade clause with the Clippers because he was signing a free agent contract, had at least eight years of NBA experience, and had spent at least four years with the team.
Sixers star Joel Embiid was pushing for a return to Philadelphia for Nicolas Batum, who also drew interest from the Bucks, among other teams, reports Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. However, Batum – who played for the Clippers from 2020-23 – still has family in Los Angeles and considers it home, per Azarly. Azarly adds that the forward’s relationships with head coach Tyronn Lue and some front office members also factored into his decision to return to L.A. on a two-year deal.

Clippers Sign Nicolas Batum To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2024 at 1:42pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 9: Batum’s new deal with the Clippers has been finalized, per the NBA’s official transaction log. In case you missed it, the veteran forward said he received interest from 17 teams as a free agent.

JULY 1: Free agent forward Nicolas Batum is returning to Los Angeles, having agreed to a two-year, $9.6MM contract with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Veteran reporter Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that the Clips were a “strong contender” to land the 35-year-old, who also drew interest from the Spurs and Warriors, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

Based on the reported terms, it seems very likely that L.A. will use the bi-annual exception to sign Batum. If that’s the case, the exact value of the two-year pact will be $9,569,400.

Batum has long been a highly versatile player who can fulfill multiple roles on both ends of the court. He has a great feel for the game and is a very smart ball-mover and passer, on top of being a strong three-point shooter — he has converted 39.8% of his long-distance looks over the past four seasons.

After an ill-fated yet highly lucrative stint with Charlotte from 2015-20, Batum had a career renaissance with the Clippers from ’20-23. He spent most of last season with Philadelphia, however, after he was traded to the Sixers in the James Harden deal. Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported yesterday that Batum would not be returning to Philly.

The 25th pick of the 2008 draft, Batum spent his first seven NBA seasons in Portland. The 16-year veteran will be playing for his native France in the Paris Olympics later this month.

Nicolas Batum Reportedly Won’t Re-Sign With Sixers

June 30th, 2024 at 6:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran forward Nicolas Batum will not be re-signing with the Sixers in free agency, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The news is mildly surprising, as Batum was viewed as perhaps the team’s most likely unrestricted free agent to return to Philadelphia after he played well for the 76ers during the regular season and playoffs. In addition to heady play-making and solid defense, the 35-year-old converted 39.9% of his three-point attempts in 57 regular season games with the Sixers (25.9 MPG).

Batum made $11.7MM last season and has a $17.5MM cap hold. In order to create significant cap room, the Sixers have to renounce Batum’s cap hold and will thus lose his Bird rights. That means the only practical ways to retain him would be to either use cap room or the room exception, which starts at just under $8MM. Considering Philadelphia is trying to sign Paul George and just agreed to a two-year, $10MM deal with Andre Drummond, there might not be much money left for Batum.

If he wants to continue his NBA career, Batum should draw interest from a variety of contenders on the open market — there were rumors last August that he might retire after the 2023/24 season, though he does plan to suit up for his native France in the Paris Olympics this summer.

Sixers Notes: Batum, Oubre, Lowry, Draft, Free Agency, Embiid

June 2nd, 2024 at 9:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Nicolas Batum, Kelly Oubre and Kyle Lowry are the free agents most likely to return to the Sixers next season, a source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The three players have proven to be a good fit alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and they’re likely to be affordable, which will be an important consideration when president of basketball operations Daryl Morey tries to round out the roster after hopefully landing at least one big name on the free agent market.

Batum is at the top of Philadelphia’s list of players to re-sign, according to Pompey. The versatile swingman appeared in 57 games and made 38 starts after being acquired as part of the James Harden trade last November. The Sixers hold Bird rights on the 35-year-old, who made $11.7MM last season and has a $17.5MM cap hold. He wound up loving Philadelphia after being traded there and is a candidate for a modest raise on a short-term deal, Pompey adds.

Decisions on Oubre and Lowry will be affected by what they’re willing to sign for. A league source tells Pompey that Oubre is likely to get an $8MM room exception offer from another team, while the Sixers will probably need him to sign in the $6-8MM range if they add another max player in free agency.

The team has a $3.3MM cap hold and Non-Bird rights on Lowry, who accepted $2.9MM for the rest of the season when he signed on February 13. Lowry said after the playoffs ended that he intends to keep playing, but he didn’t specify whether he plans to stay in his hometown of Philadelphia.

There’s more on the Sixers:

In a separate story, Pompey advocates trading this year’s first-round pick, which is slotted at No. 16. Pompey notes that Morey has a history of moving draft picks and hasn’t made a first-round selection since taking Jaden Springer at No. 28 in 2021. If the Sixers keep their pick, Pompey points to USC point guard Isaiah Collier, Providence guard Devin Carter and Indiana forward Kel’el Ware as potential selections if they’re still on the board, along with Trentyn Flowers, who played in Australia this season and has a June 20 workout scheduled in Philadelphia.
In an offseason assessment of the Sixers, Keith Smith of Spotrac questions whether Paul George and Jimmy Butler are the team’s best targets. While they would be the type of splashy acquisition that Morey is known for, Smith points out that both players are older and have extensive injury histories, which doesn’t make them an ideal fit with Embiid. Smith suggests building the team’s depth as a better option, particularly at backup center, and names Andre Drummond, Goga Bitadze, Moritz Wagner, Jalen Smith and Jonas Valanciunas as possibilities.
Embiid is feeling better after experiencing Bell’s palsy during the playoffs, Marc Stein tweets.

Olympic Notes: France, Australia, Germany, Brazil

May 17th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the host nation has announced its preliminary 19-man roster (Twitter link). As Eurohoops relays, the headliners on France’s squad are big men Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, the top two finishers in this year’s Defensive Player of the Year vote.

However, there are several more notable NBA names on the list, including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, and Ousmane Dieng. Other recent NBAers who didn’t finish the 2023/24 season on a roster include Killian Hayes, Frank Ntilikina, and Theo Maledon.

One player not on France’s roster is veteran guard Mike James. The 2023/24 EuroLeague MVP is an American, but according to a report from L’Equipe (hat tip to BasketNews.com), the French Basketball Federation explored the possibility of getting a French passport for James, who has played for AS Monaco in France’s LNB Pro A since 2021. That effort didn’t make any real headway, however.

“We do not have the culture of other nations which use naturalized players in a systematic way,” an unnamed executive told L’Equipe. “But we have a duty to explore all possibilities. In this case, we were asked, we looked at it and quickly established that it was not a question.”

The French national team will have to make seven cuts and set a 12-man roster for this July’s event.

Here are a few more updates related to the 2024 Olympics:

The Australian national team has trimmed its preliminary Olympic roster from 22 players to 17, the Boomers announced in a press release. None of the NBA players on the roster – including Josh Giddey, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Matisse Thybulle, and Dyson Daniels, among others – were among the cuts, but potential 2024 first-round pick Johnny Furphy was. The plan is for those 17 Australian players to attend training camp this summer before setting the final 12-man roster.
The German national team announced this week that head coach Gordon Herbert won’t continue on in that role after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics (hat tip to Sportando). The two sides are going their separate ways after a fruitful partnership that included a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The Brazilian national team has announced its preliminary roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia. The notable names include veteran point guard Raul Neto, former first-round pick Bruno Caboclo, Warriors rookie Gui Santos, and former NBA guard Didi Louzada. The Brazilians will need to win the six-team qualifier to earn a spot in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament.

Atlantic Notes: Batum, Nets, Ex-Raptors, Celtics-Cavs

May 5th, 2024 at 3:40pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers forward Nicolas Batum kept things fairly open when it came to talk of his potential NBA retirement, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 35-year-old is now a free agent, having wrapped up his two-year, $22.6MM contract at the end of Philadelphia’s 2023/24 season. There were rumors prior to the season that it could be his last in the NBA.

Batum told gathered media that he is, for now, just thinking about playing for his native Team France in this year’s Paris Olympics. He then reflected on his initial impressions of the Sixers.

“One thing I’ve learned is Philly is not for everybody, though,” Batum said. “You’ve got to be ready to play for that city, and I loved it. … I could feel the passion of this city for sports, for the Sixers. And I [felt] it right away, my first game against the Wizards. I [came] in and could feel it… And those fans, even when they’re not happy, you get booed, but I understand why. … I tried to [say to myself], ‘OK, they’re right. Because we suck right now, so we’ve got to play better.’”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Nets are set to retain assistant coach Jay Hernandez under new head coach Jordi Fernandez, but will be parting ways with assistants Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
A pair of beloved former Raptors championship-era teammates, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, are set to square off against one another for the first team in an impending matchup between the former’s Knicks and the latter’s Pacers, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “Yeah, it’ll be weird,” Anunoby said this weekend. “I never played against him. He’s always been my teammate, so it’ll be weird, but it’ll be cool, I’m sure. He’s looking forward to it, too.”
The NBA has revealed its full schedule for the Celtics’ second-round series against the Cavaliers. Game 1 will tip off on Tuesday, in Boston, at 6 p.m. CT via TNT. They’ll meet again for Game 2 on Thursday, at the same time, on ESPN. The series will move to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday, and will start a bit later, at 7:30 p.m. CT, on ABC. A start time for Monday’s Game 4 has yet to be announced.

Sixers Rumors: Maxey, Reed, Offseason Targets, Harris, Hield, Oubre

May 3rd, 2024 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers are disappointed by how quickly their playoff run ended this spring, there are reasons for optimism going forward. For one, guard Tyrese Maxey showed this season that he’s an impact player capable of becoming a legitimate second star alongside center Joel Embiid, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“He was amazing this year,” Embiid said of his teammate, per Mizell. “One of the 10 best players in the world this year. … He’s gotten so much better. I think there’s another step he can even take.”

Maxey will be a restricted free agent this summer, but that’s just a technicality — he will count against the Sixers’ cap for just $13MM until he signs his new contract. After using up their cap room, the 76ers will be able to go over the cap to lock him up to a maximum-salary deal that projects to be worth at least $35MM in 2024/25 — or up to $42.3MM if Maxey makes an All-NBA team.

Because the Sixers didn’t win a playoff series, Paul Reed‘s $7.7MM salary for ’24/25 will remain non-guaranteed, which means the club could potentially enter free agency with only Embiid’s salary ($51.4MM) and Maxey’s $13MM cap hold counting toward team salary. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), Philadelphia could have up to $64.9MM in cap room with just those two players on the books. That number would be closer to $55MM if the 76ers retain Reed and their first-round pick.

What might the Sixers do what that cap room? Sources tell Bontemps that Jrue Holiday was a top target until he signed an extension in Boston. OG Anunoby is also on their wish list, per Bontemps, though he’s considered likely to re-sign with the Knicks. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up (Twitter video link), Brian Windhorst identified Paul George as Philadelphia’s No. 1 priority and said he thinks the team will make George a maximum-salary offer, assuming he hasn’t re-upped with the Clippers before free agency.

If no top-tier free agents are available, Daryl Morey and the Sixers figure to turn to their trade market, since they’ll have several first-round picks available to move and won’t have to send out matching salary. Windhorst mentions Heat swingman Jimmy Butler and Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram as a pair of possible trade targets for the Sixers.

On the other hand, it’s not necessarily a star-or-bust summer for Philadelphia, according to Bontemps, who says one other potential path for the club would be to pursue a series of role players who complement Embiid and Maxey, like the Nuggets have done around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. In that scenario, the Sixers could explore re-signing a few of their own free agents, such as Kelly Oubre, De’Anthony Melton, Nicolas Batum, and/or Kyle Lowry. League sources expect Tobias Harris to be playing elsewhere next season though, per Bontemps.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

A reunion with Butler feels like a long shot, but David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the former Sixer is exactly the kind of “alpha” the team needs to complement Embiid and Maxey. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) suggests that he can’t imagine the Heat accepting a trade package heavy on draft assets for Butler unless they planned to flip those assets for another star.
Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) and Mark Deeks of HoopsHype shared their Sixers offseason previews, taking a closer look at the decisions facing the franchise.
Veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who will be an unrestricted free agent, said that he would like to return to Philadelphia, tweets Mizell. Hield scored 20 points in 21 minutes in Game 6 on Thursday but had only scored two points and had a pair of DNP-CDs in the five playoff games before that.
Oubre also expressed interest in re-signing with the Sixers, suggesting that he feels like he has “unfinished business” after the first-round loss. “I just wanna be loved,” Oubre said of his priorities in free agency, according to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “I don’t know about the business side of it. I mean, I do, but I can’t tell you what I know because I represent myself right now. At the end of the day, I wanna go somewhere where they respect and they love me. It’s been nothing but love here, of course.”
Taking a bigger-picture view, Danny Chau of The Ringer considers what another early playoff exit means for Embiid and his legacy.