The Official Nic Claxton Thread

kamaze · Post #1 » by **kamaze** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:49 am

He looks like he can play power forward with his handle and out side shooting. Good pick.

Post #2 » by **Rich Rane** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:55 am

Gonna have to get my autocorrect to not correct Nic as Nick.

MGrand15 · Post #3 » by **MGrand15** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:13 am

For what it's worth - Jarrett Allen weighed almost 20 pounds more than this guy when he was drafted.

I think we're looking at him and hoping he turns into a Pascal Siakam. Late bloomer. Ridiculous length with a 7'3 wing span. Great defensive instincts. Pretty good ball handling. Potential to be a solid shooter. Good BBIQ.

Still pretty raw but definitely a good gamble.

moonpie · Post #4 » by **moonpie** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:26 am

Read on Twitter

Shark · Post #5 » by **Shark** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:28 am

Honestly had a bit of a knee jerk reaction and thought he was a Jarret Allen clone lol. And physically, yeah, he is. But reading the scouting reports and watching his highlights he's got the tools to have a very different game than Allen. So I think this is actually a pretty good pick. I get the feeling he's going to see more time in the G League this season though.

moonpie · Post #6 » by **moonpie** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:28 am

Read on Twitter

kamaze · Post #7 » by **kamaze** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:59 am

What changed: Claxton was put on a path to being drafted a year ahead of time by Tom Crean and his Georgia staff. Crean said his second workout with Claxton in the spring of 2018 -- after Crean got the Georgia job -- showed versatility and mobility that had an NBA ceiling. When Crean ran Claxton through myriad offensive drills, he saw a special player. And despite Claxton's 6-11 frame, Crean made up his mind that they were going to train him as though he was a guard. This was done to strengthen his core and his base, to round out his body, because Claxton was a wanting defender already.

"Basically he was a backup 5 man early on and did some good things, but at the same time, getting him on the court and seeing the ability he had to create for himself, create for others, drive the ball and then eventually score, were really good," Crean said. "When we started to play, now you could see, if you could get him to play in a lower base and lower stance, he was going to be a fantastic defender and the strength would come accordingly. So many times you have to coach people ahead of where they're going to be strength-wise, game-wise, so it's not a shock to their system once you get there."

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2019-nba-draft-nine-first-round-prospects-who-beat-the-odds-after-being-lowly-rated-high-school-players/

Watch on YouTube

MrDollarBills · Post #8 » by **MrDollarBills** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:25 am

He has some nice upside with his shot, length, athleticism and frame. No reason for him to play on the main team next year at all though so he should be G League bound.

ecuhus1981 · Post #9 » by **ecuhus1981** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:53 pm

I like the pick, he reminds me of Mikki Moore. Agile, more skillful with the ball in his hands than you might expect, but doesn't mind being a junkyard dog. He was the talk of the NB combine, and impressed in other workouts as well, we are fortunate he lasted until 31.

Nic needs bulk, but I wouldn't be shocked if he landed a regular rotation spot. No one expected Rodi to be a starter this time last year, they expected him to remain overseas or stay with the G league. Not everyone can be Kurucs, but C depth is a clear need. IF he develops as quickly this summer as he did last summer, I see no reason why Nic can't carve out an immediate role. But I'm in no rush for him, if we are able to sign cheap veteran FA's to spell Jarrett and beat out Claxton, he can take him time to develop.

Rockice_24 · Post #10 » by **Rockice_24** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:13 pm

Very interesting prospect. Didn't realize how long he was. Guy has everything you look for in a late round prospect.

Looks like he could be a high level defender with the ability to cover SF/PF already. Length and vert make him a legit shot blocker too. The best part is he has form on his 3 pt shot and surprising handle for a 7 footer going coast to coast multiple times in his highlight videos.

Looks like a complete player with elite athleticism and measurables. These are the players you want your coaching staff to mold.

vincecarter4pres · Post #11 » by **vincecarter4pres** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:23 pm

Guy kind of reminds me of Anthony Randolph, who could have been so much better if he had higher bbiq and if some other things broke his way a little better.

Karate Diop · Post #12 » by **Karate Diop** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:33 pm

vincecarter4pres wrote:Guy kind of reminds me of Anthony Randolph, who could have been so much better if he had higher bbiq and if some other things broke his way a little better.

Fun fact... Anthony Randolph is only 29 years old.

vincecarter4pres · Post #13 » by **vincecarter4pres** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:37 pm

Karate Diop wrote:
vincecarter4pres wrote:Guy kind of reminds me of Anthony Randolph, who could have been so much better if he had higher bbiq and if some other things broke his way a little better.

Fun fact... Anthony Randolph is only 29 years old.

Anthony "Magic" Randolph is only 29 years old. :lol:

Supposedly he was going to try and make an NBA comeback last summer, apparently he has vastly improved overseas and is one of the better American International players out there iirc.

MrDollarBills · Post #14 » by **MrDollarBills** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:29 pm

Been watching tape of this kid all morning since I have free time today.

Very fluid handles for his size, looks like you can trust him to initiate and push the offense off of rebounds. His footwork is excellent as well, the guy appears to be under control when he attacks off of the dribble. He projects to be more of a PF in our system. Good looking stroke on the deep ball. Some time in the weight room, G League reps and work on making his jumper consistent will go a long way.

DeRoma · Post #15 » by **DeRoma** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:01 pm

MrDollarBills wrote:Been watching tape of this kid all morning since I have free time today.

Very fluid handles for his size, looks like you can trust him to initiate and push the offense off of rebounds. His footwork is excellent as well, the guy appears to be under control when he attacks off of the dribble. He projects to be more of a PF in our system. Good looking stroke on the deep ball. Some time in the weight room, G League reps and work on making his jumper consistent will go a long way.

I'm not quite sure if his handles would work at the NBA level. He sorta has a systematic approach to handling the ball. For which i'm not sure it would work in the NBA. He does an aggressive stride cross over into a defensive stance when space are closer. It works on his highlights but once there is an actual scouting report towards him. He won't be able to do any of those moves whatsoever. He needs to add a hop spin in order to deepen his whole arsenal of skills. It would let him do a straight finish, fadeaway, or an up and under.

Netaman · Post #16 » by **Netaman** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:31 pm

vincecarter4pres wrote:Guy kind of reminds me of Anthony Randolph, who could have been so much better if he had higher bbiq and if some other things broke his way a little better.

I had a similar thought that he reminded me of Chris McCullough. I think Claxton's clearly a cut below some of the guys who had higher BBIQ and probably would have been able to be in the rotation right away (Williams, Okeke, Clarke, etc) but his potential isn't too far off if he develops well and we got him in the 2nd and we saved the money from the first round (and we got a 2020 first). So we made the best of a non-ideal situation. Just too bad that the 3-4 green room guys who fell to us weren't the ones we liked.

Guess now we wait and see what happens next week in FA. Seems clear that's where Marks has placed his chips.

NetsJets · Post #17 » by **NetsJets** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:22 pm

I trust Marks and the FO and I’m excited about this pick.

ecuhus1981 · Post #18 » by **ecuhus1981** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:27 pm

MrDollarBills wrote:He projects to be more of a PF in our system.

Somewhere, Prokorov is quietly nursing a stomach ulcer because of this comment! :lol:

Seriously though, ehhhhhh I wouldn't go that far. He's going to be able to check 3's, 4's and 5's defensively if he reaches his potential IMO, but our offense would stagnate with him playing extended minutes at one of the forward spots. He's not creative enough on or off the ball, to either slash or make penetrating passes. It's not a knock, just a limitation, one that's true of most bigs. In the open court without direct on-ball defense staring at him, yeah, he looks comfortable. But it takes much more than that.

Nic is a lithe athlete, but I haven't seen enough from him to consider him a true NBA 4. Sorta like Hilton Armstrong; sure he played the 4 at UConn next to our native son Josh Boone, but he really only projected as a 5 in the pro's. I don't see more than gimmick 3-minute stretches where our system would support him and Jarrett Allen on the floor together. Alongside a different C like Jokic, or in a different system, maybe.

Claud · Post #19 » by **Claud** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:56 pm

Also has intriguing defensive potential.

Fro/Nic twin tower possibility? Both agile bigs that can rim protect + stay in front of guards in PnR... Clax at PF and Allen at Center could be something to keep an eye on.

Clax has a little bosh to his game(maybe because he's a lefty?).. also shades of odom and Jared Jeffries combined into an interesting package. Maybe we have something here.

Watch on YouTube

bud29 · Post #20 » by **bud29** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:08 pm

Only way for Clax to work as a PF in our system is if he *drastically* improves his shooting IMO. He doesn't have a bad shot but his shooting upside is purely hypothetical - he shot 28% from the college 3P line. I see him as a nice backup 5 - between him and Allen, hopefully at least one of them can beef up enough to hang with the stronger centers in the NBA. Both of them kinda have the same weaknesses on defense, they're awfully skinny and get pushed around too much.