The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly been linked to Donovan Mitchell with trade interest if he becomes available and have several attractive trade candidates on their roster, but the Net player rival NBA executives are monitoring the most is Nic Claxton – one of the top free agents on the market in 2024.
Claxton’s projected salary heading into free agency is $21 million per year, according to 12 NBA executives polled by HoopsHype. Two of the 12 executives believed Claxton could get as high as $27 million annually, four other executives pegged Claxton’s value in the $20-25 million range, and two executives valued Claxton at $20 million annually.
“I could see $25 million per year as an inflation of Jarrett Allen’s deal for Claxton, or I could see Allen’s deal at $20 million annually,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype.
The consensus among the executives is Claxton’s shot blocking, switching ability on defense to stay in front of smaller guards on the perimeter, ball handling for a player his size, youth, and athleticism were the needle-moving points to pay him. The downsides were his lack of perimeter floor spacing and foul shooting.
With roughly a quarter of the season complete, Claxton spoke with HoopsHype about Brooklyn’s start, expectations for the Nets the rest of the way, the team’s core, goals, his free agency future, and much more.
