Clippers Veteran Reacts to Possibly Teaming Up With Joel Embiid

For the second straight summer, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid steered clear of joining a National Team roster. Heading into the 2023 offseason, the Sixers’ big man was once again looking forward to recovering from an injury.

Last summer, Embiid took a step closer to joining a team in the summer for International play. After going through the process to acquire a French passport, Embiid also became an American citizen. To no surprise, both France and the USA want Embiid on their teams.

The Sixers’ big man made it clear he wouldn’t compete last summer as he underwent two surgeries for separate hand injuries throughout the team’s 2022 playoff run.

While Embiid left the door open to possibly compete with a National team throughout the 2023 offseason, the big man once again put his focus into recovery and resting while preparing for the 2023-2024 NBA season.

Both teams seem to hope Embiid will be open to an Olympic run next summer. While France’s General Manager Boris Diaw recently mentioned he wouldn’t try to lure in Embiid, they only want to welcome players to the team who want to play for France, the Los Angeles Clippers veteran Nicolas Batum dished his thoughts on the possibility of teaming up with Embiid in the future.

“Would you say no to the MVP?” Batum fired back at a reporter who asked about Embiid recently. “Would you say no to the MVP,” he repeated before walking away.

The Clippers veteran got straight to the point on the topic recently. While other key figures within France’s organization were more reserved with their thoughts on possibly landing Embiid for International play, Batum was as blunt as possible.

It’s unclear where Embiid goes from here, but the Philadelphia-based big man doesn’t seem to be slowing down his growth anytime soon. After being in the MVP running for two straight seasons, Embiid finally took home the hardware following his 2022-2023 campaign.

As long Embiid maintains playing at the level he’s been at, he’ll remain one of the league’s most dominant players. And in the event he decides to take his talents to the Olympics, Batum and France would be fortunate to have him on board if he decides to take that route.