Potential Target for the OKC Thunder Center Is Likely to Remain Put Before NBA Free Agency.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may be looking to add a big man, and it appears that one of their possible targets will probably be sticking around.
To help them go over the hump, the 57-win Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to enhance their squad. The majority of people believe that the front court is one area where the OKC Thunder should make improvements.
Oklahoma City is already linked to a large number of front-court free agents, many of whom have a mile-long want list from outside parties. Brooklyn Nets big man Nicolas Claxton is one of the centers that is expected to become available.
With the 31st pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Claxton was chosen by the Nets, who have since seen him develop into a productive big man who has placed among the top five candidates for Most Improved Player and among the top ten for Defensive Player of the Year.
There was much uncertainty at the beginning of the summer regarding Claxton’s return to Brooklyn due to his impending Unrestricted Free Agency. A recent article in the New York Post, however, makes the opposite claim.
“The fact that Nic Claxton will be able to sign free agency contracts without restriction was always inevitable. However, there’s no guarantee he’ll move out of Brooklyn. He may never even be available for public purchase. The general consensus in the NBA is that Claxton will probably re-sign with the Nets, according to Brian Lewis of the Post.
Even though Claxton is about to enter unrestricted free agency, the Nets still have a chance to be the only team able to make contact with him.
“That conceivably could happen before anybody else gets a chance to officially bid, with Brooklyn having an exclusive negotiating window with their center that starts the day after the NBA Finals ends,” Lewis says.
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder system was never going to be the ideal match for Claxton, it appears that the Bricktown boys are losing out on one more front-court option as they try to strengthen their rotation.