On his first day as Nets head coach, Jordi Fernandez predicted that Nick Claxton would win Defensive Player of the Year.
General manager Sean Marks said retaining unrestricted free agents was his biggest offseason challenge.
The Nets appear to be in the Nic Claxton business.
“Nick is a big player with great defensive versatility. I believe he will be Defensive Player of the Year. He is a top priority for us this summer. ” Fernandes said at his induction press conference at the HSS Training Center.
Of course, there are subtleties.
Did Fernandez’s “for us” comment mean Claxton was a priority for the Nets, or did it mean the center’s future Defensive Player of the Year was acquired while he was in uniform? is unknown.
And it’s relevant.
Claxton, 25, bet on himself by signing a two-year contract instead of a three-year deal in 2021 and signing an unrestricted free agent contract in June.
And multiple league executives told the newspaper that he could earn $20 million a year, a total that could top nine figures.
Brooklyn has been preparing for this since last summer.
But Claxton has told the Post in the past that he wants to stay, and the Nets clearly want to keep him.
“Nick is a top priority for us, there’s no question about that. We hope he’s in the Nets for a long time. We will continue to build around him and with him. I hope we can continue to build,” Marks said. “He’s only scratched the surface of who he will someday be.
“I love the challenge of him being Defensive Player of the Year. Nick and I have talked in the offseason about similar honors such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team Award.
He has the skill set and the mentality that he can put himself in those positions if he continues to work and continue to grow. ”
Claxton averaged 11.8 points, career-high 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game this season.
He has emerged as one of the league’s best switching big men.
Last season, he was second in the NBA in blocks, fourth in defensive win shares, sixth in defensive rating and ninth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Apparently Fernandes is confident in unlocking Claxton’s full potential.
“The way we’re able to play through him – obviously he’s great in the pick-and-roll, he has good speed to the rim, he puts pressure on the rim…but also his ability to play the dribble handoff game, which has been a hot topic in the NBA lately. “This style is very efficient and helps the ball movement,” Fernandes said.
“When everyone touches the ball and everyone’s involved, everyone’s happier. And it’s harder to guard because there’s more… you’re not as predictable. [as] Just playing the pick-and-roll. So he’s a perfect fit for what we want to do going forward. ”
Assume free agents are here.
