Sources: Nets to bring Nic Claxton back on 4-year, $100M deal

Free agent center Nic Claxton intends to a sign a four-year, $100 million contract to return to the Brooklyn Nets, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.

Claxton returns to Brooklyn as an anchor for what will be a young Nets core after the team swung a deal to send Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

Claxton, 25, averaged 11.8 points and 9.9 rebounds in 71 games this season for Brooklyn, his second consecutive year as a full-time starter for the Nets.

The 6-foot-11 center, who was drafted with the 31st pick by the Nets in 2019, has developed into one of the more effective rim protectors in the NBA, averaging 2.5 blocks per game two seasons ago and 2.1 blocks per this past season.

His ability to protect the rim and switch out on perimeter players helped earn him Defensive Player of the Year votes in 2022-23.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.