Nic Claxton may not wind up as the NBA’s Most Improved Player. In fact, he may get fewer votes than teammate Mikal Bridges in the balloting. But for a lot of Nets fans, that doesn’t matter. They know as does Nets management that the 23-year-old has been, through all the changes besetting the team, he has been a constant, his defense absolutely critical to both the old-look and new-look Brooklyn.
The Nets took a chance on him last summer. After turning down a first rounder for him at the 2022 NBA Draft, they signed him to a two-year, $20 million ($17.