The Nets biggest investment this off-season was in Nic Claxton. Brooklyn signed Claxton to a two-year $20 million ($17.5 million guaranteed) contract, a deal based more on future returns than past accomplishments. Although the 23-year-old seven-footer has had flashes and some short stretches of success, the Nets believe he can become more than that: their starting center, a solid defender who has some offensive potential.
Now, with the two big question marks — in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — erased, the Nets hope that Claxton can get beyond injury and illness. He’s well aware of what’s expected of him, as he told Brian Lewis earlier this week.