New Orleans Pelicans Receive: C Nic Claxton, G Seth Curry 

Brooklyn Nets Receive: C Jonas Valanciunas 

Of course, here’s the tricky thing about evolution – it keeps evolving. Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep track of what exactly is going on. 

For a long time, big men were expected to exclusively patrol the paint. Then, it became expected that they’d shoot threes. Simple enough. We’re done here, right? 

Not exactly. Nic Claxton can’t shoot threes. Yet, the 23-year-old big man has a potentially bright future in the NBA. How is that possible? 

Well, Claxton can close out threes. In fact, with his quick feet, long arms, and strong instincts, Claxton can guard 1 through 5 in a pinch. That type of defensive versatility will compensate for his lack of shooting.

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Realistically, you just need to impact the three-point battle to stay on the floor – if you can’t sink threes, you’d better be able to stop others from doing so. 

Claxton has no issues in that regard. Can the Nets really afford to give up such an interesting young player?