LAKERS OFFSEASON NO LEBRON JAMES BIG BOARD: #14 NIC CLAXTON

WRITTEN + EDITED BY JORDYN BONTRAGER

You best believe that if we claimed this list would never truly be completed without Daniel Gafford’s incorporation THAT SAME SENTIMENT stands true in the curious case of Nic Claxton.

It is crazy to acknowledge that Clax just wasted his 7th season of semi-brilliance toiling behind Brooklyn’s bottom feeder curtains. The 27-year-old big man from UGeorgia shares a lot of the same qualities that Gafford gives you: length, mobility, toughness, verticality, physicality, etc. His idgaf demeanor whenever smoke is brewing has always been impressive considering a majority of his matchups hold the physical upper-hand over his frail 215 pound frame. And what’s been even more impressive is how even though he has still yet to make any progress as a shooter (whatsoever), Claxton has continued to find other ways to expand his overall game around the edges.

Claxton has always been fairly steady-handed from a stance of secondary playmaking, but the Barclays boy started getting a bit more audacious when it came to playmaking from a more primary perspective (career high 3.7 APG) throughout his 69 games this year. He looks more and more comfortable grabbing + going with each and every rebound he retrieves, and there is rationale reason to believe the slender southpaw could elaborate further on this active area of expansion if surrounded with some shooters who can actually….. shoot. The Nets jinxed the Kings for the NBA’s worst team 3-point percentage at a putrid 34% 3FG.

So how is this for a scenario in which everyone hypothetically walks away victorious: Vanderbilt ($12.4M) + Ayton ($8.1M) + Knecht ($4.2M) + Draft Compensation to Brooklyn for Claxton ($23.3M of his remaining $44.4M due in ‘26-’27).

Clax gets the change of scenery which he has so desperately deserved for ages, and would instantly become the defensive cornerstone of the most polarizing franchise in pro hoops. With Reaves + Doncic setting him up for easy peasy punches plus Redick constantly setting the tone from the sidelines, a boots on ground tone setter of Claxton’s type could/should/would be bound for repetitive rewarding from the play callers/makers alike. And as time went by and he continued compiling enhanced confidence playing for a new club in a new atmosphere, maybe we start to see young Clax hit that next gear in his development as he continues to unlock some of the untapped tools we started seeing from him this szn.

Vando could make his way to the buyout market were this light bulb to translate reality wise, or the Nets could find value in finding minutes for one of the league’s most versatile defenders who now doubles as a proven source of positive reinforcement in the locker room. He is also still just 27, so you are probably looking at a minimum 3-5 more seasons of high level defensive harassment from a guy who can genuinely defend any matchup in the league.

Ayton would need to pick up his player option to help facilitate the exchange’s framework, and he should peep Michael Porter Jr’s redemption arc with the Nets last season as a best case scenario for his contract year in the season to come. Perhaps the idea of finally filling a focal point role could bait Ayton into betting on himself, as there would be no shortage of shots available for taking in Brooklyn (just ask MPJ).

Going right back to the very last sentence, Brooklyn is a team light on bonafide bucket-getters. Throw Dalton Knecht out in a regular rotation for 20-25 MPG and watch him drop double digit scoring averages. Put him in a situation like Brooklyn where he might actually be the third option, and watch Compton Knecht cook up 20 PPG.

If for whatever reason it did not make sense before, scoring Nic Claxton’s services as a defensive engine and secondary offensive hub makes all the sense in the world for the Lakers now.