It was a foregone conclusion that Nic Claxton would become an unrestricted free agent.
But it’s unclear whether he’ll leave Brooklyn.
He may never hit the market.
There is growing recognition in the NBA that Claxton is likely to re-sign with the Nets.
Brooklyn has an exclusive negotiating period with the center that begins the day after the NBA Finals end, and that could conceivably happen before other teams have a chance to officially submit a bid.
Other teams cannot negotiate with Claxton until June 30 at 6 p.m.
It remains to be seen whether the Nets will sign him by then, or if they will sign him at all.
But some league executives who spoke to The Washington Post believe he’s likely to re-sign, as Yahoo Sports recently reported.
“Nick is our No. 1 priority. There’s no question about that,” general manager Sean Marks said. “We want him to be with the Nets for a long time. We want to build a team around him and build a team with him. And it’s been fun watching Nick’s development from his time at Georgia all the way to here. He’s just scratching the surface of who he can become.”
The Post spoke with multiple league executives about how much Claxton could ask for, with one saying it could be $20 million per year and another suggesting a minimum of a Jakob Poetl deal (four years, $78 million).
Both men suggested the deal would likely ultimately come out of Brooklyn.
“Signing our players, keeping them on the team and developing our players is important,” Marks said. “We’ve done that with Nick and we’ve done that with a couple other guys in the past, so that’s going to be a priority.”
It’s debatable whether Brooklyn overpaid to retain Joe Harris in 2020 and Cam Johnson last summer.
But there’s no debate that Claxton is the top priority.
“This is my first time as an unrestricted free agent, which is definitely a blessing,” Claxton said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. At the end of the day, business is business and I have to consider my options. I’m an unrestricted free agent, so ultimately it’s my decision. I’ll have to talk to my family, my agent, pray and see if it’s best.”
Claxton is likely to be the top center on the free agent market, but other options include Isaiah Hartenstein and Jonas Valanciunas.
Yahoo Sports reports that Claxton is “likely” to sign a contract similar to the Knicks big man’s, which is expected to be worth at least $80 million and possibly more than $100 million.
“It’s exciting, at least for me. I know everyone’s situation is different, but for me personally, it’s fun and exciting because it’s all so unknown,” Claxton said. “I’m grateful that Brooklyn gave me the opportunity to come here and support them, and like I said, we’ll see what happens.”
“Brooklyn has become a city I absolutely love since I’ve lived here for the last five years. Everything about it is amazing: the fashion, the culture, the pride that people have. We have a great following. We didn’t perform as well as we hoped this year, but the support here in Brooklyn definitely means a lot.”
Claxton averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
He is arguably the best switchable big man in the league, and new manager Jordi Fernandez has extolled his importance.
“I believe he’s going to be Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a No. 1 priority for us this summer,” Fernandez said.
“And the way we play through him, obviously he’s great in the pick-and-roll, he gets to the rim quickly, he puts pressure on the rim, and he also has the ability to play the dribble hand-off game, which is a very efficient style in the NBA these days, and it helps with ball movement. … So he’s a perfect fit for what we want to do going forward.”
