How much is too much for the Nets to bring back Nic Claxton?
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.
