Nic Claxton's boast has come back to haunt him

Back in January 2023, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton boasted to reporters that he'd never lost to the New York Knicks. Since that statement, Claxton and the Nets haven't beaten them.

Claxton shot 6-for-6 and finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a 122-115 Nets victory that must have made the then-23-year-old feel invincible against his crosstown rivals. At the time, the Nets had a 10-game winning streak against the Knicks, with Claxton playing in six of the games, though Claxton did lose to them in Madison Square Garden during his rookie season.

Nic Claxton and the Nets went downhill a week after his comments

One week after Claxton's postgame comments, the Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. Three days later, they sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. A team that was 31-19 at the end of January finished 45-37 and got swept in the first round of the playoffs.

They also started getting regularly beat by the Knicks. Brooklyn lost their last two games of the season to the Knicks by a combined 42 points. The Knicks leapfrogged the Nets in the standings and won a playoff series before falling to the Miami Heat in the second round.

In 2023-24, the Knicks swept the Nets and Claxton was a combined -38 in the four losses, averaging seven points per game, though he did grab 11.5 rebounds and block 1.8 shots. Before last season, the Knicks traded for Brooklyn's best player, Mikal Bridges, then won four close games over the Nets, with Claxton missing two of them. Sunday, the Knicks won, 134-98, and Claxton left the game for good halfway through the third quarter, trailing by 29 points.

Nic Claxton's only relief will come through a trade

The Nets were surprisingly competitive last season. However, their offseason moves seem designed to ensure as many losses as possible in a year where they control their own draft pick. They traded Cameron Johnson and drafted five first-round rookies after trading away Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith during the season.

But Claxton signed up for more of this misery when he inked a four-year, $97M contract in the summer of 2024. He's stuck on a team that's woefully light on good NBA players, or even average ones. He personally lost nine straight to the Knicks while his team has dropped 11 straight.

The silver lining? Claxton's contract seems designed to be traded, as it descends in value by a little over $2M each season. For 2027-28, Claxton will be making just under $21M for his age-28 season, which could be enticing for another team.

Including the Knicks, who could use a rim protector and rebounder like Claxton to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns when Mitchell Robinson's contract expires at the end of the season. They already have a history of trading with the Nets, so a deal isn't that unlikely, regardless of what Claxton said in the past.

Claxton can't beat the Knicks anymore. And if he can't beat them, he might as well join them.