With James Harden headed in, some unhappy LA Clippers families are now headed out.
The colossal news broke overnight that the former MVP Harden had finally been traded to the Clippers in a blockbuster deal. One of the players who was included in the return package back to the Philadelphia 76ers was veteran Clippers forward Nicolas Batum.
In a post to X on Monday, Batum’s wife Lily seemed to call out the Clippers for the move. Lily shared a quote from Lauren Holiday, wife of NBA guard Jrue Holiday, about how caught off-guard the Holiday family was that Jrue had been traded by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. Lily then included a GIF of Tupac Shakur saying, “Trust nobody.”
— 𝕃𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝔼.𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕞 🪷 (@LilyEBatum) October 31, 2023
For Batum’s part, he did absolutely everything the right way during his time with the Clippers (since the 2020-21 season). He sacrificed touches, focused on defense and floor-spacing, and even accepted less money to return to the team in the summer of 2022. Batum had a knack for making clutch threes, taking on tough perimeter defensive assignments, and being a tremendous locker room veteran. At 34 years old, Batum had even spoken about how he planned to retire as a Clipper after the season.
But you cannot fault the Clippers for pulling the trigger when a player of Harden’s caliber became available (especially when they didn’t even have to give up a single one of their 20-something core players like Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, or Bones Hyland to get him). The Clippers had been linked to Harden for many months before a deal actually materialized, and Batum (an $11.7 million expiring contract) was always a likely inclusion. But that still won’t make it any tougher of a pill to swallow for a player like Batum who truly gave his all to the franchise.
