The Chicago Bulls filled a massive void by acquiring Nic Claxton — and giving up zero assets to do it. As the rest of the center dominoes fall in free agency, including the Lakers' gross overpay for Walker Kessler, that Claxton trade is low-key becoming the shrewdest move in an offseason full of them for Chicago.
The Bulls jumped into a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves to simply absorb Claxton into their open cap space; not even a lottery-ticket prospect or heavily protected second-round pick went out the door.
Executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham deserves an A+ for his debut offseason in charge in Chicago after landing Caleb Wilson and Bryson Graham in the draft and signing veteran Norman Powell to space the floor around them.
The trade for Claxton and the price he paid (again, nothing) has understandably been pushed to the back burner by those splashier moves, but it cannot go overlooked.
Bulls added Nic Claxton for next to nothing in shrewd offseason move
It's an understatement to say Chicago needed an upgrade at center after years of Nikola Vucevic. The team needed to get younger and more athletic, and while Claxton won't blow the roof off the United Center, he'll give the Bulls exactly that.
The 26-year-old started 68 games for Brooklyn last season, averaging 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 stocks (steals plus blocks). His 3.7 assists per game point to some developing upside as a facilitator.
At his peak in 2022-23, Claxton averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks and finished ninth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He was second in the NBA in blocks that season, shot a league-leading 70.5 percent from the field and was among the leaders in total rebounds, offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds.
His skill set is tailor-made for a Bulls squad wanting to out-athlete teams with length and physicality.
And he's on a team-friendly contract — Chicago will pay him $23.1 million this season and just $21 million in 2027-28.
Had Graham not jumped into the Claxton business when he did, the Bulls may have been dragged into the Kessler saga in their search for a new center.
That could've been a massive mistake, given the price LA paid to acquire their new big man: unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, along with a shiny new four-year, $130 million contract.
Claxton was a bargain buy in one of Graham's most clever moves this summer.
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