Shane Battier visits 76ers; insists 'ship has sailed' on playing career

Shane Battier swears he was just passing through the City of Brotherly Love.

However, the recently retired player attended the Philadelphia 76ers' home game against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday in an appearance that may not be as random as the two-time champion would readily admit.

The Sixers have been linked to Battier in their quest to add veteran leadership to the league's youngest roster, but the 37-year-old insists his playing days are over.

"That ship has sailed," he told Philly.com's Keith Pompey. "The playing ship has left the port."

So then, what could he possibly gain from hanging out at the Wells Fargo Center in early January?

Sixers head coach Brett Brown indicated the team reached out to Battier to simply pick his brain.

"Any time you can get somebody that's played that amount of NBA games and handled himself with that professionalism and class and intellect, you always want to say, 'What do you think?' And we learn," the bench boss said.

"What that means down the road as far as a further relationship, who knows? But he is here for that reason."

The Sixers recently added seasoned vet Elton Brand to the team in an effort to infuse some much-needed maturity to the squad, and it seems newly appointed chairman Jerry Colangelo and general manager Sam Hinkie were looking to hear from another respected pro in Battier.

With Duke connections abound - Battier, Brand, rookie Jahlil Okafor are all former Blue Devils - it'll be interesting to see if "Batman" will swoop into Philly to lend a helping hand.