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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2022 Free Agents - Nic Claxton
Summary
Claxton's intriguing play over the first three seasons of his career has come primarily at the defensive end, where he has shown the potential to be a rim protecting big that can also switch out and defend on the perimeter. He has good size and lateral quickness, and his steal and block rates have been solid. He could benefit from getting a little stronger, as currently he struggles against the bigger centers in the league.
Offensively, Claxton is a bit limited but he finishes well at the rim and doesn't try to do too much. He has a good offensive rebounding rate, and is able to get put-backs off those rebounds.
Coming out of the draft, there was some hope that Claxton could extend his range to three-point land, at least from the corners. While that hasn't materialized yet (Claxton did not even take a three in the '21-'22 season) I wouldn't rule it out. However, we probably need to see Claxton even start taking some more midrange shots before he can consistently launch from the perimeter.
Claxton needs to improve his free-throw shooting, as he is a career 54% shooter, and the 4/22 that he shot in the 2022 playoffs will stick in the minds of some executives when they think about going after Claxton in free agency.
After averaging just under 11 minutes per game in the playoffs in 2021, Claxton played over 25 minutes per game in the 2022 playoffs. While it's a good sign that the Nets started to trust him more when the games mattered the most, I don't think he showed anything in those four games specifically that helped his value in regards to free agency.
Cap Considerations
Claxton will be a restricted free agent with full Bird rights and a $2.2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. Since the Nets will not have cap room, Claxton's cap hold will not play a factor.
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Claxton as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE to sign him to an offer sheet. Due to the Nets' high luxury tax bill, there's a chance Claxton could be pulled away from Brooklyn without even a giving him a big offer sheet.
Potential Teams: Nets, Raptors, Hornets, Spurs, Trailblazers
Predicted Contract: 3-year, $20 million with the Nets
Actual Contract: 2-year, $17.2 million ($1.3 million per year in additional unlikely incentives) with the Nets
I thought Claxton might get squeezed a bit as a restricted free agent on a team that could have played hard-ball due to their luxury tax concerns, but Claxton ended up doing well and will hit unrestricted free agency at a fairly young age in 2024.
Last updated: 7/10/2022
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