The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of a long offseason in which they have to figure out the right moves to make for next season. As Brooklyn seeks to re-sign unrestricted free-agent center Nic Claxton as soon as they’re able to, there is another team expected to compete for Claxton’s services this summer.
Per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic on Wednesday, Claxton is expected to be one of the main players that the Detroit Pistons pursue in free-agency due to the team trying to change their losing ways of the past few seasons. The Pistons are expected to have a lot of cap space this summer and Trajan Langdon, Detroit’s new President of Basketball Operations, is reportedly looking to turn the team into a winner sooner than later.
“Claxton would address the rim protection woes,” Edwards wrote. Despite the expectation of the Pistons going after Claxton this offseason, one has to wonder how likely that is given that Detroit has Jalen Duren at center and has been pretty good for the franchise ever since he came to the team as the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Be that as it may, Claxton is arguably the best free-agent center available this summer with his main competition being the New York Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Jonas Valanciunas. For those wondering if this means that Claxton will be playing elsewhere, remember that the expectation among many in NBA circles is that he is more likely to re-sign with the Nets than he is to leave in free-agency.
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