LAS VEGAS — As the Nets move away from their star player and pivot toward a rebuilding process, discovering and developing homegrown talent will become even more important.
That’s why keeping Nic Claxton this summer wasn’t just important, it was essential.
The Nets are banking on the 25-year-old Claxton as not only a key starter but also a potential award contender.
There’s no pressure there.
“So he’s been our No. 1 priority this summer,” new coach Jordi Fernandez said, “both age-wise and how he’s developed over the years, so he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do.”
“And we, myself personally and the team, believe he can still get better. [He can win] Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a good playmaker and he can become a better playmaker. We’re excited to see him develop. We’re excited to have him as a part of our team for a long time.”
Claxton watched the former Knicks player sign a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder, likely competing with Isaiah Hartenstein for the top center spot on the unrestricted free agent market.
But Claxton signed to join Brooklyn’s rebuild, signing a four-year, $97 million contract, $10 million more than his former city rivals.
“That’s very important. I have a lot of credit for Nick taking the next step in his game each year,” general manager Sean Marks said. “It’s great to find players in college and I also have a lot of credit for the draft process.” [Senior director of college scouting and player evaluation] BJ Johnson has done that the last few years and has done a great job evaluating and finding Nick and drafting him where we want him to be.
“And we’re going to keep him around through the development process that we’ve had over the last few years, not just with Nick, but with our coaching staff as well. So it’s great to have talent that’s developed here. Nick fits into a variety of different teams.” [of] “We all have different paths we want to take. He’s young and he’s still scratching the surface, but I really like his overall attitude of wanting to get better and better. So now with some changes to our roster, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more from Nick as we move forward.”
After the Nets selected Claxton in the second round of the draft in 2019, he averaged 11.8 points, a career-high 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 2.1 assists last season.
They’ll need even more next season with Mikal Bridges gone and a rebuild beginning.
Shot-blocker Noah Clowney saw increased playing time alongside Claxton late last season, providing him with an athletic rim-protecting partner.
“It’s great, we want Klux back,” Clowney said. “I think we’ve shown a little bit, playing together on the court, and we’ve got room to get better together and get better, so I was excited that he signed.”
Because Philadelphia re-signed KJ Martin, he cannot be traded until Jan. 15. He was considered a sign-and-trade candidate for Dorian Finney-Smith.
