Report: Brooklyn Nets unlikely to match offers for Nic Claxton

With free agency approaching at the end of the month, the Brooklyn Nets need to make some decisions, but reports tell us that the team has decided not to match offers for young big man Nic Claxton.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets would be upgrading their center position and the Nets are “unlikely” to match a mid-level offer for Claxton.

Though the Rockets traded Wood because he no longer fit with the rebuild and to acquire a first-round pick, the Rockets are weighing keeping Marjanovic as one of the center options they are considering. They are not expected to keep other players acquired in the deal — Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown and Trey Burke. The free-agent class at center is considered unusually deep with players that might be available to teams, including the Rockets, that are over the cap but can offer the full mid-level exception, starting at $10.5 million. The Nets are considered unlikely to match a mid-level offer to Nic Claxton.

Claxton is a very talented young player with a lot of upside, including an elite defensive presence in the paint. Claxton is a restricted free agent this Summer, allowing him to test his value and receive other offers.

The news that the Nets are unlikely to match Claxton’s offers comes about a month after it was reported that Brooklyn would retain the center.