Jan. 18, 2026, 6:37 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has been having arguably the best season of his career ever since the Nets selected him with the 31st overall pick (second round) in the 2019 NBA Draft. Brooklyn has been relying on Claxton to man the middle over the past four years, but the Greenville, South Carolina native is drawing trade interest around the league prior to the February deadline.
“Nic Claxton’s had a career season so far offensively. You [YES Network’s Justin Shackil] touched on his descending contract, which does appeal the teams,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported recently during an appearance on YES Network. Claxton, similar to teammate Michael Porter Jr., will be drawing trade interest from other teams, especially since the Nets are still in the early stages of their rebuild and are still looking for more franchise players.
“A couple of teams that have had some interest, you look at the Indiana Pacers right now, who are actively looking on the market in general to find an upgrade after they lost Myles Turner,” Scotto continued. “You’ve also got the Golden State Warriors, who are looking at various center options as well across the league. There are other teams as well looking at Nic.”
Scotto’s reporting reinforces the fact that the Warriors are potentially looking at him to upgrade their center spot, a fact that NBA insider Chris Haynes reported in December. Golden State is trying to maximize the time that they have left with Stephen Curry (37 years old), Draymond Green (35), and Jimmy Butler (36) as the best players on the team before transitioning to the next phase of the franchise. The Warriors’ best center is Quinten Post, who’s averaging 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as of this writing.
The Pacers, on the other hand, are trying to fill the void that Turner left when he departed for the Milwaukee Bucks in free-agency prior to this season and so far, Jay Huff has been the best man at the pivot for Indiana. Huff, who’s averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game is having a career-best season while only averaging 20.0 minutes per contest.
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Prior to Sunday’s game at the Chicago Bulls, Claxton is averaging 12.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 58.1% from the field and 65.0% from the free-throw line. While there has been more rumors swirling around Porter than around Claxton, there are teams around the league that could be looking for upgrades at center and Claxton could fit the bill if Brooklyn is willing to part with him.