Potential OKC Thunder Center Target Likely to Stay Put Ahead of NBA Free Agency

The Oklahoma City Thunder could be in the market for a big man, and one of their potential targets is now likely to be staying put.

Apr 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) looks on during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the market for upgrades to their 57-win roster, in search of getting over the hump. One of the needs most everyone feels the OKC Thunder should address comes in the front court.

Oklahoma City has already been tied to a plethora of front-court free agents with external wishlists placed upon them a mile long. One of the centers that has been projected to hit the open market is Brooklyn Nets big man Nicolas Claxton.

The Nets selected Claxton with the 31st pick of the 2019 NBA Draft and have watched him grown into a productive big man who in his career has finished top ten in Defensive Player of the Year voting and top five for the Most Improved Player honor.

With Unrestricted Free Agency looming for Claxton, the summer started with serious doubt that the center would return to Brooklyn. However, a recent report from the New York Post suggests otherwise.

"It was always a foregone conclusion that Nic Claxton would become an unrestricted free agent. But it’s no sure thing he will leave Brooklyn. He might not ever even hit the open market. More and more the perception around the NBA is that Claxton is likely to re-sign with the Nets," Brian Lewis of the Post reports.

Despite Claxton starring down the barrel of unrestricted free agency, there is still one more chance for the Nets to be the lone team that can contact 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 explains.

While Claxton was always going to be a messy-at-best fit with the Oklahoma City Thunder system, it is seemingly one more front-court option off the table for the Bricktown boys looking to bolster their rotation.

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