The offseason is in full swing at this point of the summer and among many things, the Brooklyn Nets have to figure out how to address the needs they have to give themselves a better chance of being competitive next season. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report believes that the Nets can improve their backup center position through free-agency.
For the 2022-23 season, Nic Claxton was the starting center and had a career-year due to the improvements that he’s made to his body and offensive game as well as honing his defensive prowess. During the campaign, Brooklyn tried to find a player who could be a good candidate to spell Claxton for rest/foul trouble and that usually ended up being second-year Day’Ron Sharpe.
Sharpe had an inconsistent role in the rotation as they were times where he didn’t play due to his recent play failing to meet his standards or because head coach Jacque Vaughn wanted to go small when Claxton exited the game. While a case could be made that Sharpe is the best candidate for that backup spot, Swartz believes that if Brooklyn wants to go elsewhere, the backup center void can be addressed by free-agents.
According to Swartz, the free-agents that could help out would be: Thomas Bryant, Mo Wagner, and Mike Muscala. None of the aforementioned players are stars, but they have had good moments in the NBA. Here’s what Swartz had to say:
“The Nets have become extremely wing heavy, which is actually a good thing in today’s NBA.
It also means that work needs to be done in the frontcourt, unless Nic Claxton plans to play 48 minutes a night. Brooklyn needs to find a backup center, preferably one who can clean the glass after the Nets finished next-to-last in rebounding this past season (47.2 total rebound percentage).
Bryant looked good in stretches for the Los Angeles Lakers before he was traded to the Denver Nuggets. Still just 25, Bryant made 44.1 percent of his threes and is a good finisher around the rim.
Both Wagner and Muscala bring some floor-spacing as well, providing a nice contrast to Claxton’s rim-heavy game.”
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