The Latest Breaking News from Charlotte

The forward is reportedly close to re-signing with Charlotte, despite his previous felony domestic violence charge.

PHILADELPHIA — Clippers teammates were gathering in the key and coaches were talking in a circle at midcourt, but Nicolas Batum was in no hurry to leave his courtside chair and begin shootaround on a late November morning.

The first sign that things were different for the Clippers wasn’t seen so much as it was heard, some 90 minutes before Wednesday’s tipoff. It was the sound of sneakers on cement flooring reaching full speed down a hallway leading from the court to the team’s Crypto.com Arena locker rooms.

As Nikola Jokic etched his name alongside Wilt Chamberlain, no one with the Nuggets seemed to have any idea what type of rare air he was occupying.