The Nets' starting big man in the middle has spent his entire early career playing for Brooklyn. As a rookie, he appeared in 15 games while also playing in nine games for the Long Island Nets. With Long Island, Claxton seemed like a guaranteed stretch big that would space the floor often after shooting 56% from three on two 3-point attempts per contest. As of 2024, he is one of the best centers in the league, living in the paint and averaging 11.8 points and 9.9 rebounds on an efficient 66% clip, but is still hit or miss at the free throw line. At the stripe, Claxton is shooting it at only 55% accuracy.
It's true that there is some untapped potential left for Claxton, but whether he'll remain a Net moving forward after him playing the final year of his contract is still uncertain. Brooklyn head coach, Jordi Fernandez, wants to be apart of tapping into Claxton's full potential. Back in April, he reiterated that retaining him in free agency is a priority.
"Defensive versatility," said Fernandez to ESPN's Tim Bontemps when describing what Claxton brings to the table. "I believe he'll be Defensive Player of the Year. For us, he's a priority in this summer."
Nets GM Sean Marks has his sights set on bringing back Claxton as well. In fact, Marks believes "Nic is the No. 1 priority" too, and "there's no doubt about that." Marks wants the Claxton to be a Net for a "very long time."
Many teams that are perhaps rebuilding and are not yet contenders or teams that are rebuilding, but are contenders, can definitely be threats to the Nets in not re-signing Claxton during the offseason for a reported price tag of $21 million a year according to C.J. Holmes of the NY Daily News. A team that could use the services of the Nets center is the Washington Wizards. The Wizards just went 15-67, the second-worst record in the NBA, with the worst defensive rating in the league.
A middle-of-the-pack team like the Toronto Raptors would flourish with Claxton as a member of the team. After trading Pascal Siakam before the trade deadline, every player from their 2019 championship team except Chris Boucher is no longer there. A new system with the 2022 Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes, leading the charge will be fun to watch especially considering there is more in store from the Raptors.
Last but not least, the Oklahoma City Thunder -- a team that is ahead of schedule on their rebuild -- would easily lure Claxton away from re-signing with the Nets. Taking into consideration that Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are still on their rookie contracts, the Thunder just finished as the first seed in the Western Conference with the Coach of the Year and an MVP candidate leading the way. A twin-tower tandem between Claxton and Holmgren replicates what the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
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