The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of an important offseason for them as they try to improve the team enough to make the playoffs next season. It’s still early in Brooklyn’s summer, but it seems that they are heading into next season assuming that a certain player will be manning the middle.
In a recent article by Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily, he said that according to his sources, the Nets are “very confident” in their ability to re-sign unrestricted free-agent center Nic Claxton. While this statement isn’t particularly surprising given how general manager Sean Marks and newly-signed head coach Jordi Fernandez have spoken glowingly about Claxton so far, there is more information.
Per Kaplan, the Nets are confident in their ability to re-sign Claxton “even if the annual value on the contract approaches $25 million.” While there hasn’t been much information coming out of Claxton’s camp or Brooklyn in terms of what the monetary demands of each side are, this gives a glimpse into how much the Nets are willing to pay to bring Claxton back.
This new information is in line with what Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has reported in the past in terms of what executives around the NBA believe that Claxton will receive on the open market. Nets Wire recently wrote about what the negotiations with Claxton could look like given that there are some teams with cap space that could have a need for a center.
Claxton, 25, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he 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. As has been written before, it seems likely that Claxton is coming back to Brooklyn, but it looks like his price point just went up based on his market value.
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