Nicolas Batum was ahead of his time, and the Blazers took a decade to replace him

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday. A much-deserved retirement for Batum, who spent 20 years playing professionally, including 18 in the NBA.

While he will largely be remembered as a journeyman in the NBA, Blazers fans know how important Batum was to this franchise during his first seven seasons in Portland.

As the No. 25 overall pick in 2008, Batum was more NBA-ready than many of his draft classmates, as he had already played two years professionally in France. By his second season with the Blazers, Batum was already averaging around 10 points per game.

Still, that didn't paint the entire picture, as his Swiss Army Knife player archetype meant his well-rounded game and impact on winning went well beyond scoring. Batum had an underrated career in that sense and was even a bit ahead of his time, given the direction the modern NBA is now heading.

Wings, versatility, and two-way impact are all highly valued in today's league, and Batum had all three.

Blazers finally found their next Nicolas Batum in Toumani Camara

He may not have been the star the Blazers needed to pair with Damian Lillard, but he was a far better fit than the other pieces they surrounded him with. Batum is similar to Toumani Camara in that sense -- an elite role player and complementary piece thanks to his versatility as a wing.

Besides Batum, Portland desperately missed that during Lillard's first stint. Had they landed more complementary pieces like Batum, Lillard might never have requested a trade in the first place, as Portland likely would've had more postseason success.

We even considered him for the Blazers to pursue in free agency this offseason at age 37. Though Batum isn't the player he once was, Portland finds itself in need of more wing depth to spell Camara and Deni Avdija for stretches.

Batum is officially no longer an option to address that wing depth following this retirement announcement. But it also seems this announcement flew under the radar or didn't get the recognition it deserved, given Batum's success playing professionally for 20 seasons.

That longevity is impressive itself and a testament to Batum's versatility, allowing him to adapt to the evolving NBA through the past two decades. And though the timing never aligned for Batum to win a ring in Portland, Blazers fans appreciate those seven relatively successful seasons. He filled a huge void for this roster, one that never really got addressed following his departure in 2015.

A decade later, they finally have those versatile wings in Camara and Avdija. And ideally Batum would've stuck around a bit longer to give them more veteran experience, versatility, unselfishness, and depth.

Still, this is a well-earned retirement for the former Portland Trail Blazer, one that can easily go overlooked, as Batum was one of the most underrated players of the past two decades.

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