The Brooklyn Nets have an intriguing summer ahead of them, but they could take care of one apparent priority sooner rather than later. Brooklyn big man Nic Claxton is a pending unrestricted free agent, making his signature on an extension deal a chief and urgent priority for his team, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“It was always a foregone conclusion that Nic Claxton would become an unrestricted free agent. But it’s no sure thing he will leave Brooklyn. He might not ever even hit the open market. More and more the perception around the NBA is that Claxton is likely to re-sign with the Nets. That conceivably could happen before anybody else gets a chance to officially bid, with Brooklyn having an exclusive negotiating window with their center that starts the day after the NBA Finals ends.”
It's not a stretch to think many other teams already have plans to go after Claxton in the upcoming free agency period. The Nets have an exclusive window of time to be the only team to talk about a new contract with Claxton but after 6 p.m. on June 30, other clubs can reach out and discuss business with the former Georgia Bulldogs star.
Nic Claxton's has been huge for the Nets
Claxton was a bright spot in the Nets' disappointing 2023-24 NBA season. He averaged 11.8 points on 62.9 percent shooting from the field, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 blocks through 71 games. Although Claxton was just sixth this season in average points among Nets players, he led the team with a 124 offensive rating. He also finished with a 111 defensive rating — the best among Brooklyn players with regular minutes. In addition to all of that, Claxton has been the Nets' leader in win shares in each of the last two seasons; he posted 9.2 win shares in the 2022-23 NBA season and 6.7 in the 2023-24 campaign.
With his body of work in the NBA, particularly during the last couple of seasons, Claxton is viewed as someone ripe for a huge salary increase by way of a new contract. After being taken off the board by the Nets in the second round (31st overall) in the 2019 NBA Draft, Claxton got signed by Brooklyn to just a three-year $4.2 million. In 2022, Claxton inked a two-year $17.25 million with the Nets. So far in his NBA career, Claxton has earned a total of $22.24 million.
This time around, some in the league believe he could secure a contract with an annual value greater than his total salary earnings up to date.
“The Post spoke with multiple league executives about how much Claxton could command, with one suggesting he will get $20 million annually and another pointing toward a Jakob Poetl contract (four years, $78 million) as an absolute minimum.”
As one of the best big men on the free agent market, Claxton can be expected to score a big win on the negotiation table, regardless of whether he ends up staying with the Nets or starting a new chapter of his NBA career somewhere else.
“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,” Claxton said. “I’m appreciative of Brooklyn for just giving me the opportunity to be here and support me. And like I said, we’ll see what happens.
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