As the Clippers and their fans awaited word on Kawhi Leonard’s plans on Monday, the first day of NBA free agency, the team came to a swift agreement with Nicolas Batum on a two-year deal, according to a league source. Further confirmation came from Batum’s wife, Lily, who sent out a tweet adorned with Clipper-colored hearts.
Batum will sign a two-year deal with a player option for the second season. The non-Bird rights deal for the veteran forward from France, for about $3.2 million, leaves the Clippers still with their $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception to work with.
Otherwise, there were no public developments regarding Leonard’s decision in the first few hours of league-sanctioned negotiations between teams and players.
On Sunday, the Clippers’ star officially declined the $36 million final season of his previous contract with the team, as had been widely expected since December, making him an unrestricted free agent.
There’s a general expectation that Leonard will re-sign with the Clippers, but on Sunday evening Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that the five-time All-Star wing – who will be sidelined indefinitely as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament – planned to “listen to other teams.”
On Monday, as the annual free agency frenzy got going, teams such as the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks that had enough outright salary cap space to afford to sign a star of Leonard’s caliber were busy making deals with other players, their space mostly evaporating.
“It looks like [Kawhi] is expected to re-sign with the Clippers, but sources informed me that he will listen to other teams.”@ChrisBHaynes on Kawhi Leonard’s free agency pic.twitter.com/gntyoqShap
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 2, 2021
When Leonard came to terms with the Clippers in 2019, it was on the sixth day of free agency that news broke that the team had both reached a deal with him and pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This time, Leonard, 30, could be eyeing a two-year, $80.6 million contract with a player option for the second year. He could then decline the option in 2022 and sign possibly the largest contract in NBA history next summer: $235 million over five years.
The Clippers’ other free agents this offseason: Reggie Jackson, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Amir Coffey (restricted).
Batum – one of the Clippers’ last signings prior to the 2020-21 season – was the first to sign this year. An unrestricted free agent, he was said to have had interest from suitors including Golden State, Indiana, Portland and Miami. Batum currently is competing at the Tokyo Olympics, playing alongside Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert and helping Les Bleus reach the quarterfinal round in which they’re slated to face Italy on Wednesday (late Tuesday night PT).
It might be worth noting that for the next two seasons, Batum will continue to earn $9 million from Charlotte, which waived and stretched the final year of his contract in order to create the cap room necessary to sign Gordon Hayward last November. Perhaps that might have helped compel him to accept a lower offer to stay with the Clippers, with whom he fit so well last season?
In 67 games with the Clippers last season, he averaged 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal in 27.4 minutes per game. The 32-year-old logged the most minutes on the team (1,835) last season and started 38 regular-season games and 10 playoff contests.
His astute defense, solid shooting from 3-point range (40.4%) and unselfish style of play all were important components in the Clippers’ playoff run to the Western Conference finals, their longest to date – and made him a favorite among fans, some of whom nicknamed themselves the “Batum Battalion.”
In his postseason news conference on July 1, Batum said “of course” he’d take into account the fan support when choosing where to take his talents this coming season.
“The Batum Battalion, I wasn’t expecting that. That was pretty cool,” he said. “The fans in general, they welcome me with open arms. I know they have some doubts about me when I got here, but the way they greet me, the way they greet me, welcomed me and my family, it was great. I can’t thank them enough because that was a great year. That was a special year for me.
“I had no idea it could end up that way as a basketball player and have a fan base again. That was a special year and I still can’t believe it, to be honest. I loved it, so thank you guys.”
https://t.co/3n4RjrgvUL pic.twitter.com/VBgOUyCgE7
— Lily E.Batum (@LilyBatum) August 3, 2021
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