Tag: nic claxton

Nets appear to want to bring back free-agent Nic Claxton

In a recent episode of the HoopsHype (@hoopshype) podcast, Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) and Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) discussed Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton’s free-agency.

The Brooklyn Nets are going into an important offseason for their rebuild as they have to make some roster decisions without the luxury of any picks in the upcoming draft. One of the most important matters for Brooklyn to address is the free-agency of unrestricted free-agent center Nic Claxton.

In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Brian Lewis of the New York Post discussed various topics regarding the Nets this offseason, including bringing Claxton back to Brooklyn. During the conversation, Lewis said “If you’re asking me over or under 50 percent if Claxton is back, I think it’s over 50 percent.”

This sounds like Claxton is more likely than not to be coming back to the Nets given how plugged in Lewis and Scotto are with the Nets and their thinking at this point in time. Scotto noted in the episode that “through my conversations with executives, I’d say he (Claxton) remains around that $20 million figure annually. I think $25 million would be his ceiling as of now.”

If Claxton re-signs with Brooklyn for a contract averaging $20 million, he would be tied with Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen for the 10th-highest paid at the position next season.

If Claxton earns a contract paying him $25 million per season, he would be eighth-highest paid center in the league, just behind Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton ($34 million) and right in front of Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez ($23 million).

Time will tell how much Claxton will earn on the open market after coming off a season in which he was one of just four players this past season to average at least 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.

Claxton could earn closer to $25 million per season given that the other three players are Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton discusses the end of season, free-agency, more

During his exit interview on Monday, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton addressed a disappointing season along with his free-agency and more.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton is heading into free-agency for the first time in his career now that Brooklyn’s season has come to an end. Before Claxton thought about his free-agency in its entirety, he took some time to think about how this season went awry.

“Just trying to process everything. Obviously this season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, the way we had it planned,” Claxton said during his exit interview on Monday. In the midst of the Nets not meeting their own expectations of making the playoffs, Claxton had himself another solid season that will earn him a pretty penny on the open market.

You always grow during tough times, tough times at work,” Claxton said about how tough this season was. “A lot of times that’s where your true colors show. And, like I said, it wasn’t an easy year. But the guys in the locker room, we were still locked in no matter what was happening in wins and losses.”

Claxton, who will turn 25 years old on Apr. 17, 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 in his fifth season in the NBA. To put those numbers into perspective, he finished 13th in the league in rebounds per game, eighth in blocks per game, and fifth in field-goal percentage.

Claxton finds himself in a unique position as he could be signing a contract worth at least $20 million per season and still play for the team that drafted him with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. However, he said that he’s still early in his decision-making process and described his first time being a free-agent as a “blessing.”

As someone who has seen his status within the league rise since last season when he was able to play more than 47 games for the first time in his career, Claxton is having fun with the process.

“I think it’s exciting, for me at least. I know everybody’s situation is different, but for me personally, it’s fun, it’s exciting, the unknown of everything. The position I’ve put myself in over these past couple of years is really amazing and I just have to thank God and just be grateful because a lot of things could’ve happened,” Claxton said.

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Nets full injury report for Wednesday’s tilt against Raptors

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

The Brooklyn Nets have three games remaining on their 2023-24 season before everyone within the organization heads back home to begin their offseason following a disappointing season. As this season comes to a close for Brooklyn, they will be dealing with a longer-than-normal injury report due to the wear-and-tear of a long season.

In the Nets’ injury report ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn has one of the lengthier lists that they’ve had this season, starting with who is out. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith (left knee effusion), Two-Way forward Jaylen Martin (left ankle sprain), and backup guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) will all miss Wednesday’s contest vs. the Raptors.

Finney-Smith missed Sunday’s 107-77 loss to the Sacramento Kings with his knee issue while Smith has missed seven of the past eight games with the inflammation in his right hip. Martin has been relegated to the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, ever since he signed his Two-Way contract with Brooklyn in February.

Moving on, center Nic Claxton (left ankle sprain), forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain), and Two-Way guard Jacob Gilyard (left hip contusion) are listed as probable for Wednesday’s tilt against Toronto. Claxton missed Sunday’s loss to the Kings after twisting his ankle in Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Johnson has been dealing with his toe ailment for awhile now and as such, he has missed six of the past eight games as the team is being cautious with him given the amount of injuries he has suffered this season.

Gilyard, similar to Martin, has spent most of his time in Long Island since coming to Brooklyn in March, but he has played in two games for Brooklyn when the team had been missing too many ball-handlers due to injuries.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton discusses playing through nasal injury; Cam Thomas

After Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton spoke on his nasal injury and Cam Thomas.

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has been one of the steadying forces for the team this season as he has been the anchor of the defense and has been available for the most part. That availability almost came into question for Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards due to an injury.

Prior to Wednesday’s game at the Wizards, Meghan Triplett of YES Network reported that Claxton was going to go through warmups with a mask on due to a nasal injury that he suffered in Saturday’s 105-93 loss at the New York Knicks. Claxton played most of the game without the mask on, but he did not suffer another facial injury and still put up 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks in the contest.

After the win, Claxton said that he took the mask off because he “wasn’t comfortable” and that he hopes to get a new mask that will make him feel more comfortable. Brooklyn’s next game is at home on Friday against the Chicago Bulls so there may be enough time for Claxton to get a new mask.

Also, Claxton gave his thoughts on how Cam Thomas, someone that Claxton has played with for the past three seasons, has developed from just a scorer to being a player who can affect the game with his playmaking ability as well. Thomas had one of his best games of the season as he put up 38 points and seven assists to lead the Nets to a much-needed overtime victory.

When asked about Thomas’ growth over the years, Claxton had this to say:

“It’s been beautiful watching him grow and everybody is reaping the benefits of that. He’s finding us as you see, seven assists, 38 points. That’s tough. So, he’s got to keep going and we’re gonna follow him.”

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Nets full injury report for Thursday’s matchup at Bucks

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets as they enter an important matchup at the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

As mentioned plenty of times in recent memory, the Brooklyn Nets are hanging on to their postseason hopes by a thread as they trail the Atlanta Hawks by 4.5 games for the 10th and final seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. Going into an important matchup on Thursday at the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn will be missing a key rotation player and could be missing another.

In the Nets’ initial injury report for Thursday’s game at the Bucks, Brooklyn has a couple of listings that are concerning to say the least in terms of the team’s firepower. For starters, Dorian Finney-Smith, the Nets’ starting power forward for the majority of this season, is out for the contest due to left ankle soreness.

Based on the past few injury reports, Finney-Smith had been dealing with that left ankle soreness for the past couple of games, but was able to play through it in Sunday’s 122-115 overtime loss at the San Antonio Spurs and Tuesday’s 104-91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. With Finney-Smith not playing, forward Cam Johnson will most likely start in his place.

The other notable addition to the report is that center Nic Claxton is questionable for the matchup due to an illness. This is the first time that Claxton has been listed on the report due to an illness so the hope is that he can play through it.

If Claxton is unable to go, backup center Day’Ron Sharpe would probably take his place in the starting lineup. Finney-Smith and Claxton have been two of the more available players for the Nets as they have played 60 and 59 of Brooklyn’s 69 games played, respectively.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton reacts to lack of rebounding in loss to Pistons

After Thursday’s 118-112 loss at the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton reacted to the team’s overall lack of rebounding.

The Brooklyn Nets are at arguably their most important portion of the season as they have to pile up wins despite facing their most significant amount of injuries at the same time. Despite being favored in their matchup at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, Brooklyn did not do what it was supposed to do to win the game.

The Nets lost at the Pistons on Thursday 118-112 and in the contest, it was clear that one of Detroit’s points of emphasis was controlling the glass on both ends of the floor. The Pistons won the rebounding battle 50-28 and part of that was due to the fact that Brooklyn was missing Ben Simmons, Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe from its frontcourt rotation.

The other part of that huge discrepancy was Detroit picking up 13 offensive rebounds thanks to the activity of players like Jalen Duren (three offensive rebounds) and Ausar Thompson (two). Since the Nets were missing some key frontcourt players, the Pistons took advantage of how much smaller Brooklyn was once Nic Claxton went to the bench.

Claxton had one of the better performances on the team as he put up 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks and even he felt that he could have been better on the boards. Here’s what Claxton had to say about the team’s overall rebounding performance:

“The biggest difference-maker was probably the rebounding and them just corralling the missed shots and it’s a big momentum change. So, I would say the rebounding… we all just got to do a good job of just hitting somebody and we can also do better on the offensive glass. I need to do better on the offensive glass for sure. I think I’m probably averaging like one (offensive) rebound in the last 10 games so I need to do better.”

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Nets’ Nic Claxton opens up about team’s pride being tested

After Saturday’s 114-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton spoke on the team’s pride being tested recently.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA as they have underperformed in a significant way since beginning this season with a 13-10 record. More than just the amount of losses that were piling up, Brooklyn looked like a team that was giving up when the going became tough.

“We have pride as a team,” Nets center Nic Claxton said after Saturday’s 114-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks to bring themselves within two games of the Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings. After a 108-81 loss at the Orlando Magic on Feb. 27, Claxton said that it was “inexcusable” for the team to play with no energy. He expanded on how the team should play moving forward following Saturday’s victory over Atlanta.

“We don’t want to feel like our roster is weak,” Claxton explained. “We have enough talent. We shouldn’t go out and ever get beat like that so at the end of the day, everybody, individually, we have to have pride.” If the past two wins over the Hawks have proven anything, it’s that Brooklyn is showing that pride that they displayed at the start of this season and are starting to get their confidence back as well.

Claxton, who put up his 21st double-double of the season on Saturday by notching 12 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks, has been one of the players who has been doing his part to get the Nets back on the winning path. “We all have to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out ways to be better and come together and have results like today,” Claxton said.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton’s unrestricted free-agency will be interesting for both parties

While the offseason is still months away, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton unrestricted free-agency will be interesting for both sides.

Most, if not all, Brooklyn Nets fans know by now that center Nic Claxton will be an unrestricted free-agent once this season is over. At this point of the season, the Nets, along with plenty of reports, have made it clear that Brooklyn’s intention is to re-sign Claxton to keep him with the Nets.

While it is understandable that Brooklyn wants to re-sign Claxton instead of letting him walk in free-agency, one of the interesting things to see play out this offseason is what Claxton’s market turns out to be. In the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast, host Michael Scotto and guest Brian Lewis of the New York Post discussed various topics surrounding the Nets.

One of the subjects that came up was Claxton’s impending free-agency as the Nets look to rebuild their team for the future. Scotto asked if there’s a number that Brooklyn will not go beyond when it comes to re-signing Claxton.

While there has been reporting that Claxton’s expected contract value could be somewhere between $20 million and $25 million per season, there hasn’t been any reporting as to how much the Nets are willing to pay. Scotto reported earlier this season that some NBA executives believe that Claxton could get as much as $27 million annually.

At the end of the day, Brooklyn is trying to move forward while keeping as many of its good players as possible, especially successful draft picks like Claxton. However, with Ben Simmons and Cam Thomas being eligible for extensions this offseason as well, the Nets will have to make some tough financial decisions since they won’t be able to pay everyone.

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Report: Nets would like to re-sign center Nic Claxton

Zach Lowe of ESPN reported on Friday that the Brooklyn Nets would like to re-sing center Nic Claxton this upcoming offseason.

The Brooklyn Nets are completely off for the next week or so since none of the players are participating in any of the All-Star weekend events. However, while the team is off as they try to recover for a potential playoff run, the news will always keep going.

In a recent article by Zach Lowe of ESPN, Lowe said that the Nets “would like” to re-sign center Nic Claxton this upcoming offseason. Claxton will be an unrestricted free-agent this summer so Brooklyn will not have the failsafe that comes with restricted free-agency of being able to match what another team offers him during free-agency.

This report is not exactly news to anyone that has been following the Nets for any extended length of time as there have been numerous reports of Brooklyn’s interest in re-signing Claxton. Up to this point in the season, much of the talk regarding Claxton’s impending free-agency has been how much money he will command on the open market.

The Nets will have some important decisions to make this offseason as not only will Claxton be an unrestricted free-agent, but guards Ben Simmons and Cam Thomas will be eligible for extensions as well. Claxton, 24, is averaging 12.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 62.5% from the field and 57.0% from the free-throw line.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton discusses disappointing season heading into All-Star break

After Wednesday’s 136-86 loss at the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton how disappointing this season has been thus far.

The Brooklyn Nets head into the All-Star break with a 21-33 record and are 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. However, knowing that the Nets were 13-10 at one point early this season, what has happened since then has been nothing other than disappointment for the organization and the fans.

After Wednesday’s 136-86 loss at the Boston Celtics, the Nets were rightfully criticized for what looked like the team packing things in before the All-Star break officially began for them. While playing professional basketball is one of the hardest things to do that few people know about, it was still clear to anyone watching the game that Brooklyn did not play as hard as they should have.

Plenty of the Nets players have expressed a desire to make the playoffs and have even vocalized a belief that Brooklyn can make it to the postseason. However, with the team having just an 8-23 record since that 13-10 start, there are plenty of questions over how good this team can be moving forward.

Wednesday’s blowout loss at Boston, along with the postgame comments, indicate a team that is struggling to sustain any kind of winning because of issues throughout the team. Nets center Nic Claxton gave his take on what has been a disappointing season so far:

“We just got to flush it out, have short-term memory. It’s definitely been disappointing. The season has been pretty disappointing if we’re just being honest, but we just got to have short-term memory and get acclimated with the new guys coming back after the break.”

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