Nicolas Batum says he wasn't surprised by Joel Embiid's decision to join Team USA, claiming it was the best one for him.
Los Angeles Clippers and French national team forward Nicolas Batum believes Joel Embiid made the best decision for himself after committing to Team USA.
The 34-year-old also admitted that he didn't spend much time convincing Embiid to join France.
"I didn't work that much because he really came to us, so he came to us, he asked for citizenship," Joey Linn from si.com quotes Batum. "So, when I heard about it, he came to me, and we talked about it for sure. I mean, I was more than happy to welcome him to the team, and he took the best decision for him."
"I would have taken the same one [decision]. When you see all the guys who committed, like, they claim it's the missing big man, but if you want the perfect lineup, they needed one of the best, if not the best, big men. So, when I saw that, I was like, oh, that's fair," Batum added.
Batum also explained that Embiid's decision didn't come as a surprise to him.
"No, not surprised. Not really mad about it because if I think of a basketball fan, it can be really, really something amazing like we've never seen before. Maybe '92 or '08, but you don't see stuff like that very often. As a basketball fan, it's crazy," Batum talked about the possibility of witnessing one of the strongest American teams ever.
However, France might end up playing this stacked Team USA squad, and Batum had one question.
"As an opponent, it's like, you didn't need that much. You got plenty already, so you need to bring Embiid?" Batum joked. "But hey, good for them. It's going to be an interesting tournament anyway, so we'll see."
