The Brooklyn Nets are a little thin at center. Nic Claxton has had a fantastic season and starts for them, but behind him they lean on second-year player Day’Ron Sharpe.
Now add Nerlens Noel to the mix, they will sign the free agent who was waived by Detroit last month to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Free agent center Nerlens Noel is signing a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, his agent @GeorgeLangberg tells ESPN. After completing buyout with Pistons, Noel joins a Nets team needing some size off the bench.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2023
The Nets can sign Claxton up to two 10-day contracts before deciding whether or not to add him to the roster full time or waive him.
Noel, 6'11" and 28 years old, played a very limited role for Detroit this season as the Pistons focused on their young rotation of bigs made up of Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, Marvin Bagley, and now James Wiseman. The Pistons looked for a trade at the deadline but could not find a deal to their liking and they waived him before the end of February. That makes him eligible to be on the Nets’ playoff roster.
Noel is in his ninth NBA season out of Kentucky, he brings a strong defensive impact to the floor but his lack of an offensive game makes him difficult to play outside of specific matchups and lineups.
