Tag: nic claxton

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams in the NBA that could stand to add some talent to a team that disappointedly missed the playoffs this season. As Brooklyn embarks on this offseason journey to improve as much as possible for next season, they will be happy to know that they could be re-signing another top-100 player.

In The Ringer’s top-100 NBA players list, the outlet ranked Nets center Nic Claxton as the 95th-best player in the league. Claxton, Brooklyn’s second player to make the list after guard Mikal Bridges made the list at 52nd, is ranked in front of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley and behind Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton.

Claxton, 25, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he had similar numbers to his 2022-23 campaign, but did not receive any votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award. In 71 games played this season (71 starts), 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.

The Ringer refers to Claxton as a “switch army knife capable of guarding all kinds of players, with plenty of potential still to tap into” in reference to his ability to being able to guard players on the interior and on the perimeter, something that sets Claxton apart from most big men in the NBA.

Justin Verrier of The Ringer had this to say about Claxton as an indication of where Claxton is within the center hierarchy and what that could mean for his future:

“There’s still plenty of room to grow: adding strength, fighting for contested rebounds, and lifting his free throw shooting out of hack-a territory are all on the to-do list. But as Brooklyn is still figuring out its road map back to contention, it’s possible that the unrestricted free agent will have to figure out the next phase of his game elsewhere.”

[lawrence-related id=58858,58855,58851]

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has had a unique relationship with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and the NBA All-Defensive teams over the past two seasons. Claxton, along with plenty of the Nets fanbase, believe that he has been perpetually snubbed in voting for the awards and it looks like that continues.

The NBA announced on Tuesday the players who made First-Team All-Defense and Second-Team All-Defense along with how the voting results shook out. Unfortunately for Claxton, he did not receive a single vote for either of the teams and that will probably only add to his frustration with the voting for the regular season accolades.

Claxton, 25, had another solid season for the Nets in 2023-24 as he averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 62.9% from the field and 55.1% from the free-throw line. With reference to the conversation surrounding defensive awards, Claxton also averaged 2.1 blocks per game, good for eighth in the league.

While Claxton wasn’t expected to be close to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, it’s reasonable to expect him to garner some votes for the accolade to match his impact on the defensive end. However, Brooklyn did finish with a disappointing 32-50 record and was just 20th in the NBA in defensive rating (116.1).

The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive Team: pic.twitter.com/k3FODNJ0YU

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 21, 2024

[lawrence-related id=58821,58818,58815]

The Brooklyn Nets have an important offseason ahead of them as arguably their most important matter to address is re-signing free-agent center Nic Claxton. While both sides have indicated that they would love for Claxton to come back to Brooklyn, there are some other factors for the Nets to consider during this process.

To start off, Claxton, general manager Sean Marks, and new head coach Jordi Fernandez have all made it clear that Claxton is in the plans for the team’s future, whatever the price is. However, this free-agency negotiation between Claxton and the Nets may not be as clear-cut as it seems from the outside looking in.

As has been reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype multiple times over the past year, executives around the NBA believe that Claxton’s new deal will range somewhere between $20 million and $25 million per season. However, Keith Smith of Spotrac recently wrote that Claxton could be seeing more money than that due to inflation, so to speak.

“$20 to $25 million is what non-All-Star centers have gone for in recent years. If we adjust up slightly, Claxton could be looking at a deal that lands between $100 and $120 million over four years,” Smith wrote. Per Spotrac, there are five centers making between $20 million and $25 million, with the highest among the five being Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez.

However, some within the Nets fanbase have wondered what will happen if Claxton’s contract demands starts to go into that $25 million to $30 million range over four seasons. Brooklyn may have to prepare for that possibility if they want to make it so Claxton re-signs.

Also, part of the negotiation will be what other teams would be willing to offer Claxton to pry him away from the Nets. “Most of the cap space teams have centers already in place. In addition, most contenders, or would-be contenders, also have centers in place. That could work in Brooklyn’s favor for retaining Claxton on the lower end of the above range,” Smith writes.

At this moment, it seems that the Nets know what they are working with in terms of potential contract values for Claxton. Time will tell how these negotiations go and how much attention Claxton will receive on the open market.

[lawrence-related id=58773,58758,58755]

The Brooklyn Nets are in the summer portion of their operations as they look for ways to improve the team enough to make it back to the playoffs next season. As they progress through their offseason, one of Brooklyn’s best players did not receive a single vote for one of the most prestigious awards in the NBA.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert won the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year award, the fourth time that he won the accolade in his career. Along with the announcement, the league also posted the voting results for the award and Nets center Nic Claxton did not receive a single vote.

While the award was expected to come down to Gobert and San Antonio Spurs Center Victor Wembanyama, it was somewhat surprising to see Claxton not get a single vote despite his defensive numbers not changing much. Claxton, 25, averaged 2.1 blocks per game (eighth in the NBA) and was 23rd in the league in Defensive Win Shares (3.2).

In the 2022-23 season, Claxton averaged 2.5 blocks per game (tied for second) and as a result, received the seventh-most votes for that year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. One possible reason for this is because of the Nets finishing with a 32-50 record and ending this season 20th in defensive rating (116.1).

Claxton has spoken about the award numerous times over the past couple years in terms of how he feels that he’s one of the better defensive centers in the league even if he doesn’t win the award. New Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez recently said that he believes that Claxton will be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate again soon enough.

After receiving the 7th-most votes for last season's DPOY award, Nets center Nic Claxton doesn't receive any votes for this season's award. I'm surprised to see that given that Claxton's defensive numbers are similar to what they were last season. https://t.co/jqVedqd2Jz

— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) May 8, 2024

[lawrence-related id=58682,58679,58676]

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a disappointing 2023-24 season in which they finished with a 32-50 record despite starting the season with a 13-10 record. As Brooklyn moves through this offseason, they will have some important decisions to make, such as how much they should be paying in their attempt to bring back their most important free-agent.

The Nets’ most important free-agent by far is center Nic Claxton and there seems to be some discussion over how much Brooklyn should be willing to pay to re-sign him. In a recent article by Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily, Kaplan wrote that, according to his sources, the Nets are confident in their ability to bring Claxton back to Brooklyn, even if they have to pay him $25 million annually to get the job done.

Claxton, 25, is coming off a 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. With the NBA’s 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year award to be announced on Tuesday, time will tell how highly voters viewed Claxton’s defensive impact this season which could factor into his value on the free-agent impact.

Based on reporting from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and now from Kaplan, it seems set that Claxton’s new contract will land somewhere between $20 million and $25 million.

As of this writing, Spotrac lists fives centers where their current contract has a AAV between those figures: Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls ($20 million), Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers ($20 million), Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers ($20.4 million), Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks ($22.9 million), and Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks ($24 million).

Including Claxton in with the five aforementioned centers, he was fifth in points per game, fourth in rebounds per game, third in assists per game, second in blocks per game, second in field-goal percentage, and sixth in free-throw percentage.

Given how Claxton has performed over the past two seasons and how other teams with cap space this summer could have a need for Claxton, it seems that the Nets should be okay with paying Claxton, even if it is $25 million per season.

[lawrence-related id=58679,58676,58673]

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.

[lawrence-related id=58669,58665,58662]

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a disappointing 2023-24 season in which they finished with a 32-50 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. As Brooklyn progresses through an important offseason for the franchise, they will have to address arguably their most important matter by trying to re-sign an important free-agent.

The Nets’ biggest free-agent this summer is center Nic Claxton, who is an unrestricted free-agent this offseason and could have plenty of suitors for what he brings to the floor. A good thing for Brooklyn is that for the kind of contract that Claxton is expected to command, there many not be many teams that would be able to meet his monetary demands.

As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported this past season, executives around the NBA believe that Claxton’s contract in terms of average annual value (AAV) can range anywhere from $20 million to $27 million per year. Based off how Claxton has played the past two seasons, it seems that he will most likely land a deal between $20 million and $25 million.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently wrote a piece on what free-agency could look like for Claxton and one thing he said was interesting to read. “Among teams with at least $25 million in projected cap space—Detroit (Pistons), Oklahoma City (Thunder), Orlando (Magic), Philadelphia (76ers), Toronto (Raptors) and Utah (Jazz)—it’s hard to find a no-brainer landing spot with a willingness to break the bank for Claxton,” Hughes wrote.

While the Nets have a good shot of re-signing Claxton given that he wants to come back to Brooklyn (presumably at the right number), there are other teams in the league that could be willing to pay more for Claxton’s services. Out of the six teams that Hughes listed, the teams that likely would be pursuing a big man this offseason would be the Magic and the Jazz.

While anything can happen, the rest of the teams seem to have their center moving forward while Orlando and Utah could be looking for a good big man to improve their team. With that being said, it seems that Brooklyn has a good chance to re-sign Claxton, but they have to be careful to not underestimate his ability to leave for another team this summer.

[lawrence-related id=58662,58658,58654]

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.

[lawrence-related id=58483,58480,58477]

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.

[lawrence-related id=58445,58440,58437]