{"id":202097,"date":"2025-10-10T07:10:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T07:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/202097\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T07:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T07:10:07","slug":"nic-claxton-cam-thomas-prepare-to-traverse-new-brooklyn-nets-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/202097\/","title":{"rendered":"Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas prepare to traverse new Brooklyn Nets season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MACAU, CHINA \u2013<br \/>\nThe Brooklyn Nets are entering another transition year, but this<br \/>\ntime, there\u2019s no drama, no headlines, and no superstars looming<br \/>\nover the locker room. Just a group of players trying to build<br \/>\nsomething sustainable from the ground up.<\/p>\n<p>Gone are the days of the<br \/>\nstar-powered experiment that once featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie<br \/>\nIrving, and James Harden from three years ago. What remains are a<br \/>\nfew steady hands, players like Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, who have<br \/>\nseen both sides of the franchise\u2019s rollercoaster journey. As<br \/>\nBrooklyn prepares to play two games in the preseason slate in Macau<br \/>\nagainst the Suns, the two longest-tenured Nets reflect on what it<br \/>\nmeans to lead the team into this next era.<\/p>\n<p>For Nic Claxton, who\u2019s grown<br \/>\nfrom a wiry second-round project into one of the NBA\u2019s most mobile<br \/>\ndefensive big men, every year brings new lessons and<br \/>\nresponsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m adjusting \u2013 I mean, you<br \/>\nknow, every year is different,\u201d Claxton said. \u201cYou have a different<br \/>\nset of goals, but at the end of the day, you wanna go out there and<br \/>\nimpact winning. That\u2019s my job, and we got a lot of younger guys on<br \/>\nthe team now, so I have to use my experience to help them out and<br \/>\ncontinue to grow my game as much as I can as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a mature outlook from a<br \/>\nplayer who\u2019s quietly become one of Brooklyn\u2019s pillars. Last season,<br \/>\nClaxton averaged 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks \u2013<br \/>\nanchoring a defense that was often tasked with holding the line<br \/>\namid offensive inconsistencies. Now, under second-year head coach<br \/>\nJordi Fernandez, Claxton is being asked to take another step \u2013 not<br \/>\njust as a rim protector, but as a leader in both tone and<br \/>\npreparation.<\/p>\n<p>And by his own account, he\u2019s<br \/>\nready for that challenge. \u201cMy conditioning has been A1,\u201d Claxton<br \/>\nsaid with confidence. \u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing really hard, so I feel<br \/>\nlike I\u2019m in the best spot that I\u2019ve been in in my career right now<br \/>\nwith conditioning, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That confidence is timely, as<br \/>\nthe Nets\u2019 new identity will revolve around toughness, defense, and<br \/>\neffort \u2014 areas where Claxton naturally thrives. With Fernandez<br \/>\nemphasizing pace and player development, Claxton\u2019s voice will be<br \/>\ncritical in setting the team\u2019s standard.<\/p>\n<p>While Claxton leads the<br \/>\nfrontcourt, Cam Thomas continues to evolve as Brooklyn\u2019s go-to<br \/>\nscorer. After averaging a career-high 24.0 points per game last<br \/>\nseason, Thomas proved he can fill it up against anyone. But as the<br \/>\n23-year-old enters his fifth NBA season, the challenge isn\u2019t just<br \/>\nscoring \u2013 it\u2019s expanding his influence across a young locker<br \/>\nroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust keep improving,\u201d Thomas<br \/>\nsaid when asked about his expectations this year. \u201cPlaying hard and<br \/>\nbeing competitive, that\u2019s really the main thing. You win, you lose<br \/>\n\u2013 whatever our coach wants \u2013 he always preaches to us it\u2019s not<br \/>\nabout the wins and the losses but it\u2019s about how we compete as a<br \/>\nteam and how we fight\u2026 just competing and fighting and the wins<br \/>\nwill come. So, I just wanna keep following the system and following<br \/>\nwhat we do, and everything will work it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That philosophy fits perfectly<br \/>\nwith Fernandez\u2019s developmental focus. The Nets are chasing habits<br \/>\nthis year to hopefully build into the right step in the<br \/>\nfuture.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019 scoring ability is<br \/>\nwell-documented, but this offseason, the guard also worked on<br \/>\nbecoming more of a facilitator \u2013 a necessity on a roster that added<br \/>\nthree rookie point guards. Still, Thomas expects to maintain his<br \/>\naggressive offensive role while taking on more leadership<br \/>\nduties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think my role will be the<br \/>\nsame, nothing has changed really,\u201d he said. \u201cWe got more young guys<br \/>\nnow, I think I would have the same role that I had last year, and<br \/>\njust keep improving. Obviously just helping them get up to speed<br \/>\nand help them to understand NBA games as quickly as possible,\u201d<br \/>\nThomas shared. \u201cMy job is to try to get them up to speed as much as<br \/>\nI can, and offer up help in any way I can for them. Definitely<br \/>\ngonna be that leader in that aspect and I can\u2019t wait to get<br \/>\ngoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sense of responsibility<br \/>\nrepresents another important shift for Brooklyn. With several<br \/>\nveterans already leaving the team in seasons past, Claxton and<br \/>\nThomas now bridge the gap between the team\u2019s past and its future.<br \/>\nBoth have experienced the turbulence of constant roster turnover<br \/>\nand now find themselves in positions to stabilize the franchise<br \/>\nfrom within.<\/p>\n<p>The Nets\u2019 trip to Macau, part of<br \/>\nthe NBA China Games, gave the group a valuable early test of that<br \/>\nchemistry. For a young team still finding its identity, dealing<br \/>\nwith long travel, jet lag, and quick turnarounds mirrors the grind<br \/>\nof an 82-game season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust our ability to adapt,\u201d<br \/>\nThomas said about how they can use this experience for the upcoming<br \/>\nNBA season. \u201cWe\u2019re coming on a 17-hour flight, the time difference<br \/>\nis crazy. We\u2019re not here very long to get acclimated as much as<br \/>\nwe\u2019d like, so we got two games in three days, so definitely<br \/>\ndifferent. But I would say the biggest ability is to adapt to any<br \/>\nsituation you can and be ready for back-to-backs in the<br \/>\nNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adaptability might just become<br \/>\nBrooklyn\u2019s defining trait. The Nets aren\u2019t expected to compete for<br \/>\na playoff spot immediately, but they have the right mix of youth<br \/>\nand hunger to make things interesting. Fernandez\u2019s system \u2013 which<br \/>\nemphasizes spacing, movement, and defensive effort \u2013 is built for<br \/>\nplayers like Claxton and Thomas to thrive and lead.<\/p>\n<p>Claxton\u2019s voice on the floor and<br \/>\nThomas\u2019 scoring punch give Brooklyn a foundation to build on, even<br \/>\nas they continue to retool. And for both players, Macau served as<br \/>\nmore than just a preseason stop \u2013 it was a reminder of how far<br \/>\nthey\u2019ve come\/<\/p>\n<p>As the Nets prepare for the<br \/>\n2025-26 season, the tone is different. No more quick fixes or<br \/>\nblockbuster expectations. Instead, there\u2019s patience, growth, and<br \/>\nplayers like Claxton and Thomas ready to lead the climb.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, you<br \/>\nwanna go out there and impact winning,\u201d Claxton said. \u201cThat\u2019s my<br \/>\njob.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For a team trying to rediscover<br \/>\nits identity, that simple message might be exactly what Brooklyn<br \/>\nneeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MACAU, CHINA \u2013 The Brooklyn Nets are entering another transition year, but this time, there\u2019s no drama, no&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-202097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}