Brooklyn Nets Center Nicolas Claxton has been one of the NBA’s best paint presences in recent seasons. The 25-year-old averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks last season, and was rewarded with a four-year, $97 million contract.
There was concern that the career Nets player would leave the team for a better team in the offseason, but he decided to re-sign. Brooklyn signed Claxton for four more years, but they paid him off in the offseason when the team traded Mikal Bridges, a sign of a rebuild.
Claxton is already 25, which puts him somewhere between young and old in the NBA. He has improved every season over his five-year career, but his new contract could lead to a potential trade at this season’s deadline.
Claxton’s four-year contract assures interested teams that he’s in it for the long haul, which increases his value. An organization looking for a center would be inclined to give a team more for a player with a good contract than for someone whose contract is expiring.
It would also make sense for the Nets to trade Claxton because of the way this team is rebuilding. Cam Thomas, Jalen Wilson, Dariq Whitehead, and Noah Clowney are all between the ages of 20 and 23, so while Claxton isn’t too far off Brooklyn’s timeline, he’s going to be in his late 20s soon, and the Nets may not be out of the rebuilding phase by then given the number of draft picks they’ve accumulated.
Realistically, Claxton should spend at least the next season or two in Brooklyn, but the idea of trading him early in his contract might not be such a bad move given the circumstances.
Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the cover.
