This is an exciting time for Nic Claxton. Not because the weeks ahead will be filled with some much-needed rest and relaxation with loved ones after a grueling 82-game slate, but because the Nets center is about to get paid.
Claxton’s two-year, $17.2 million contract just expired and he will have no restrictions when free agency opens in July. He is projected to command at least $21 million per year, according to reports.
The center has improved in each of his first five seasons in the NBA since being drafted in the second round out of Georgia in 2019 and averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks in 2023-24, emerging as one of the better two-way starters in the league at his position.
The 24-year-old finished eighth in the NBA in total blocks this season with 146, was 21st in the league in field goal percentage among centers (62.9), 14th in total rebounds collected among centers (706) and recorded 30 double-doubles for Brooklyn in 71 games.
“I think this year has definitely helped me, but it also showed me the areas of my game that I really want to grow in,” Claxton said.
Speaking to reporters during exit interviews on Monday, Claxton admitted that he is far from a finished product. He knows he has to put in more work to realize his full potential. But the work he has done so far has not gone unnoticed. And now he has put himself in a prime position to cash in.
“I think it’s exciting, for me at least,” Claxton said. “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. I’m appreciative of Brooklyn for just giving me the opportunity to be here and support me.”
Claxton expressed his desire to remain in Brooklyn back in December, but a lot has changed since then. The Nets finished 32-50 and missed the playoffs. Jacque Vaughn was relieved of his head coaching duties during the All-Star break in February, Kevin Ollie finished the season as interim head coach, and Brooklyn still has yet to decide who will lead the franchise in that regard going forward.
And because of the Nets’ struggles, the team is expected to have a new-look roster next season. Until that group is revealed, Claxton has no way of knowing how he might fit into the equation, and he does not have much time to wait around and see.
“It wasn’t easy for anybody,” Claxton said. “Having a coaching change in the middle of the year, it’s never easy. I think KO was my fourth coaching [change]. Also, KO, you have to give him a lot of credit. He did a phenomenal job… And as far as the players, we really grinded throughout the coaching changes, the different offenses, the different defenses, and it wasn’t easy. It’s never easy. But we did the best we could.”
Brooklyn’s 106-102 defeat of the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday offered a glimpse at what the future could hold. Claxton and rookie Noah Clowney became just the fourth pair of teammates in franchise history to have at least five blocks in the same game.
A frontcourt duo of Claxton and Clowney has a high ceiling at both ends of the court, but the Nets obviously have to move money around and find a way to keep Claxton on the roster if they want the young big men to continue to grow together.
Expected to be one of the top centers on the open market, Claxton will have no shortage of suiters. Teams like Detroit, Philadelphia, Orlando, Utah, Oklahoma City and San Antonio are projected to have plenty of cap space. Not to say any of those teams would be an ideal fit for Claxton, but he has plenty to consider in the coming weeks — and he has earned the right to be in this position.
“I still have to weigh my options,” Claxton said. “This is my first time being an unrestricted free agent, it’s definitely a blessing. The situation that I was in this year, I had a lot of different feelings, a lot of different emotions, just knowing the whole contract situation. But at the end of the day, I trusted in my body, I trusted all the work I put in over the offseason, and now that time is here, so we’ll see what happens.”
Claxton told reporters that Brooklyn has grown on him through the years. Its culture, its fashion, the community. Given how much he has grown during his time with the Nets, returning to the franchise next season is something he will not rule out.
While he used words such as “chaotic” and “whirlwind” to describe his time with the Nets, he also appreciates the team for supporting him and giving him a home. And if Sunday’s loss to the 76ers was his last game in a Brooklyn uniform, he wanted fans to know just how thankful he was for the experience.
“I feel like I’ve really grown a lot from everything,” Claxton said. “I was able to play with some future Hall of Famers here. I’ve created some really great relationships with teammates. I’ve learned a lot from every single year. I’ve taken something and I’ve grown from that, and at the end of the day that’s all you can do as a human being. Hopefully the best is yet to come, wherever that is for me, and I just know I gave it my all these past five years.”
