Brooklyn Nets New Head Coach Says Keeping Nic Claxton is ‘a Priority’

Newly-hired Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez made his thoughts known early in his tenure on keeping the key pieces around.

December 16, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, the Brooklyn Nets made their new head coach official, citing Jordi Fernandez as the one who will lead the team into the next era.

By Wednesday, Fernandez was already voicing his opinion on keeping a key roster piece in upcoming unrestricted free agent Nic Claxton around.

"Nic is a big that has defensive versatility," Fernandez said at his introductory presser on Wednesday. "I believe he'll be Defensive Player of the Year. For us, he's a priority in this summer.”

Nets' general manager Sean Marks echoed the same sentiment.

"I think Nic is the No. 1 priority for us. "There's no doubt about that. We hope he's a Net for a very long time. We hope we can continue to build around him and build with him and so forth."

Even more, Fernandez already hinted at his understanding of the game and Claxton’s usage.

“And the way we can play through him — obviously he's great in pick-and-roll, he's quick to the rim, he puts pressure on the rim — but also his ability to play the dribble-handoff game which, as you guys know, lately in the NBA is a style that is very efficient.”

Keeping Claxton will undoubtedly be important in keeping Brooklyn competitive in the upcoming season. This season, the 6-foot-11 hybrid averaged 11.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game in 71 contests as one of the best defenders in the league.

The 25-year-old will be coming off a two-year, $16 million deal, and will assuredly command more than that coming off a few career seasons.