Philadelphia 76ers: Nicolas Batum should join Joel Embiid in Philadelphia

For the Philadelphia 76ers, the hard part is done; they have their Big 3, have the nucleus of a good team, and now, they just need to round out the roster with quality players who fit alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and James Harden.

That, my friends, is the good news. While Daryl Morey could pursue another star by moving off of Tobias Harris’ massive contract, that’s easier said than done and may actually prove a net negative depending on what has to be surrendered to get a deal done.

The bad news? The Sixers’ infrastructure to assemble a championship-level roster is sus, to put it mildly.

On paper, Sam Hinkie had the right idea; build through the draft, pursue homegrown stars via the lottery, and then cash some assets in for a certified superstar-level talent to fill it all out. Very few teams are lucky enough to organically secure three young stars, so unless a ready-made duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving opt to take their talents to a random team that then cleans house, acquiring an established star to pair with a younger upstart is a proven avenue towards success.

The problem? The Sixers have already cashed out most of their assets, and their complementary parts just aren’t good enough to play in the same stratosphere as the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.

Fortunately, high-end role players aren’t as hard to find as one might think, and with some luck, patience, and foresight, a team can build a complementary roster around their top-end talent.

For that to happen, the Philadelphia 76ers need to target veteran wings who can shoot 3s, cut to the basket, rebound at both ends of the court, and defend multiple positions; aka, they need to sign current Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum.

The Philadelphia 76ers should prioritize Nicolas Batum as their MLE target.

In Charlotte, Nicolas Batum was a certified bust.

Initially acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers for a package of Noah Vonleh and our old pal Gerald Henderson Jr., Batum was handed a five-year, $120 million contract extension that rapidly became an albatross around the Charlotte Hornets’ neck, and he was ultimately waived in 2020 despite having an extra year left on his deal.

Sidebar: Think about that for a second; the Hornets wanted Batum off their books so bad that they used the seldom employed stretch-and-waiver provision to split the remaining balance of his contract – $27.13 million – over three years. Crazy.

And yet, for the right price – and in the right role – Batum has once again proven that he can be a very good player indeed, as his on-court efforts for the Los Angeles Clippers have clearly showcased. Tasked with playing a hybrid frontcourt role splitting time between the four and the five spot, the French-born forward shot the ball well from range, hitting 40 percent of his 4.6 attempts per game, rebounded efficiently for a wing shooter, and even found a way to pick off a pass a game on average.

Whether tasked with playing the small ball five or switching alongside traditional centers like Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein, Batum has proven himself a capable switching forward across multiple positions and provided good utility as a high-end utility role player on a veteran minimum contract.

Could Batum be back with the Clippers this fall, either via a $3.3 million player option or on a bigger deal using the team’s MLE? You bet; Batum has voiced his appreciation for Ty Lue on multiple occasions and clearly likes playing for him, but if the Philadelphia 76ers come calling with a bigger role and a bit more money, could Daryl Morey steal away a player who will likely be Joel Embiid’s teammate on the French National Team in the 2024 Olympics?

You know, they just might – especially since Batum explicitly expressed an interest in playing alongside Embiid for Team France last month.

No matter who the Sixers opt to draft, trade, or sign in free agency this summer, there’s a spot on the team for Batum either in the starting lineup or as a sixth man coming off the bench. He has experience playing all three frontcourt spots, experience playing in all sorts of different roles, and can 3-and-D with the best of them, which is the exact role the team needs to fill in the worst way.

Signing Batum could prove beneficial to Embiid, beneficial to Paul Reed, and even beneficial sans any center at all, as playing the 6-foot-8 forward at the five spot situationally could unlock some intriguing looks featuring Harden plus four shooters.

After employing more than a few players who are defined by what they can’t do, it sure would be nice to secure a player who can pretty much play with anyone.

As you’ve probably read oh so many times before, the Philadelphia 76ers don’t have a ton of options to improve the roster moving forward. They can make trades, find a diamond in the rough at pick 23, or even get lucky on a free agent willing to sign a veteran minimum, but the best chance to secure a Day 1 contributor, especially one who checks all of the team’s boxes is with the mid-level exception, which is worth $6.33 million according to Spotrac. If that’s enough to secure Nicolas Batum’s services, well, then the Sixers might be in business indeed. I mean, hey, if Batum wants to play with Joel Embiid, there’s one very easy way that he can guarantee it happens.