Deveney: Nets prepared to match any offers for Nic Claxton

Veteran NBA writer Sean Deveney writing for Hoopshype, reports the Nets are likely to match an offer on Nic Claxton and he quotes executives saying the 23-year-old wants a three-year, $35 million deal.

At 23 years old with an abundance of raw talent, any team would be glad to have Claxton as their center for the future. But one Eastern Conference general manager says that the Nets are prepared to match any offers that the young center may receive from other teams this summer.

“He is not going to get more than a midlevel offer from a team like Charlotte or Chicago, and if that is the case, they’re comfortable matching it. He is restricted, they can match anything another team gives him. He is looking at something like three years, $35 million,” one Eastern Conference general manager told Heavy’s own Sean Deveney.

On Monday, Alex Schiffer reported in his mailbag that “I’ve heard the same.”

How much of that is real and how much is a bargaining ploy to keep other interested teams at bay, we don’t know. The Nets can offer Claxton up to four years and $55 million if they sign him before June 30. After that, they can wait to see what Claxton is worth on the free agent market. If he gets another offer, the Nets would have 48 hours to match.

Deveney’s source says the Nets think the risk is low.

“They are not sold on him as the big guy of the future but at that number, they’d keep him around, and know they can move him in a deal next summer if they have something better in mind.”

Any such deal would mean a big luxury tax increase, but Joe Tsai has said he’s willing to pay it.

• Nets Expected to Match Offers for Prized Free Agent During Offseason - Heavy.com
• Nets prepared to match any contract offers for Nic Claxton this offseason - Brian Lewis - New York Post