In a move that has thrilled fans, the Clippers have secured fan favorite Nic Batum on a 2-year, $9.6M contract.

There’s no need to delve into Nic Batum’s skills here. If you’re reading this or tuning into our podcast, you already know how exceptional he is as a role player and how much he’ll contribute to the team. He was the missing piece last year after the Harden trade and will instantly fill a crucial gap.

Now, let’s discuss the next steps. The Clippers recently signed Kris Dunn (more on him in an upcoming article) and are nearing a full roster. They used their BAE on Batum, leaving just the remains of the MLE and veteran minimums. It appears Batum will come off the bench, suggesting a starting lineup of Harden-Mann-DJJ-Kawhi-Zu, with a bench of Dunn-Norm-Amir-Batum-?, and additional depth from Bones, Kevin Porter Jr., Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, and Cam Christie.

The Clippers still need a backup center and could use a starting-level power forward. Most of their recent signings (except for Porter Jr) have been defense-oriented, hinting they might be eyeing an offensive player like Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan to replace Paul George.

For now, while we await further moves, we can celebrate two more years of Nic Batum’s reliable defense, smart passing, and three-point shooting. The Batum Battalion is back!