The Los Angeles Lakers tried to land a big man to complement Luka Doncic ahead of the NBA’s February trade deadline, and they had a deal done for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets before that agreement fell through — either because Williams failed a physical or because the Lakers got cold feet, depending on who you believe.
One thing that isn’t in question, however, is that L.A. is will aggressively pursue a quality lob threat for Doncic this summer who can also protect the rim on defense. There are a handful of potential options on the trade market, including Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton appeared on the Friday, May 2 edition of the “Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective” podcast and mentioned Claxton as one of the Lakers’ high-end options given his contract, which is four years for $97 million total and runs through the 2027-28 campaign.
“Nic Claxton is on a rebuilding team and fits a lot of what you want ideally in that sort of five-man next to Luka,” Pelton said. “The problem is the salary is still so big because he’s got a descending contract. He’s at 25.3 million next year. That’s much more difficult for [the Lakers] to fit in. [For Claxton] they’ve gotta trade three guys probably.”
Los Angeles has a first-round pick and up to four first-round swaps at its disposal. However, the team will also need to put together enough player salary to at least approach the $25.3 million Claxton will make in 2025-26.
The Nets will likely only be interested in players with expiring contracts, regardless of skill, so that they can continue to play poorly and procure another high pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Such players will also allow the team to wipe those salaries off of its books in the summer of 2026, which will free up salary cap space to pursue desired free agents.
Claxton, 26, has posted averages of 10.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks over his six-year NBA career.
