The Brooklyn Nets have been making noise prior to the 2024 NBA Draft and it wasn’t because of them trading for any picks in the Draft. One day after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn took care of business with free-agent center Nic Claxton, who had something to say after re-signing.
After reports of Claxton intending to re-sign with the Nets on a four-year, $100 million deal, he posted on his Instagram story that he knows who he is. The post did not make it clear what he was referring to in terms of knowing who he is, but one thing he can know is that he will be a more wealthy man on a well-deserved deal.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Claxton’s deal will include $96 million guaranteed, the second-highest amount of the team after Simmons’ $177.2 million guaranteed at signing, even though he signed that contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Claxton appears to be part of the Nets’ rebuild and his contract is not to the point where Brooklyn couldn’t trade him if they needed to do so at a later point in time.
What Claxton’s post does allude to is the fact that he carries a chip on his shoulder after not winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in either of the past two seasons. Claxton has spoken about being snubbed a few times over the past couple of seasons, but at least he wasn’t passed over in terms of his contract demands.
In 2023-24, Claxton averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 62.9% from the field and 55.1% from the free-throw line. Despite having similar defensive stats that he had during the 2022-23 season, Claxton did not receive any votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award or the All-Defensive teams.
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