Nets rim protection lost its safety net when Nic Claxton left for Chicago.
Picture the first possession of training camp. A guard uses a high screen, turns his shoulders and sees open hardwood. The on-ball defender trails. Day’Ron Sharpe steps toward the drive. A cutter slips behind him. For one second, the entire defense hangs on Sharpe’s choice.
Claxton used to clean up those moments.
He could switch onto a quick guard, absorb two hard dribbles and still recover toward the rim. Brooklyn did not always defend well around him, but his length gave teammates room to make mistakes. That margin has disappeared.
The Nets finished the 2025-26 season at 20-62. Basketball Reference’s final adjusted ratings placed Brooklyn 29th defensively, allowing 118.96 points per 100 possessions after accounting for schedule strength. Then the front office traded its best established rim defender while adding Julius Randle, rookie forward Joshua Jefferson, Moe Wagner and perimeter stopper Keon Ellis.
Brooklyn improved its talent.
Whether it improved its defense remains another question.
Claxton took Brooklyn’s margin for error with him
Trading Claxton blew open the Nets rim protection problem.
The four-team deal sent him to Chicago while Brooklyn received Randle and the draft rights to Jefferson. Minnesota also received Isaiah Evans from the Nets. On paper, Brooklyn exchanged a defense-first center for a three-time All-Star scorer and a first-round prospect.
That shift changes more than the starting lineup.
Randle earned $33.3 million for 2026-27, with a player option for the following season. He gives Brooklyn far more offensive creation than Claxton ever did. The Nets can run possessions through his post touches, elbow isolations and short-roll passing.
When smaller defenders switch onto him, Randle drives his shoulders into their chest and carves out deep position. Help defenders must choose between conceding the mismatch or leaving a shooter.
His rebounding should help, too.
Still, Randle does not erase drives above the rim. He protects space with strength, not reach. Asking him to serve as Brooklyn’s lone back-line defender would turn every blow-by into a wrestling match near the restricted circle.
Claxton offered a different kind of insurance. He averaged 11.7 points last season and blocked at least 1.1 shots per game in five straight campaigns. More valuable than the totals was his ability to defend away from the basket without abandoning it completely.
Brooklyn traded that rare flexibility for offense and roster optionality.
Now Jordi Fernández must replace it with structure.
Day’Ron Sharpe gets the first crack
Sharpe does not glide across the lane. He arrives with shoulders, forearms and noise.
When a shot rises, he finds contact before chasing the ball. His screens land hard. Smaller defenders vanish behind his frame. Around the basket, he plays as if every rebound belongs to him until someone proves otherwise.
That physicality gives the Nets rim protection plan a foundation.
Brooklyn re-signed Sharpe to a reported two-year, $20 million contract after he posted career highs of 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He also shot 60.1 percent from the field. With Claxton gone, Sharpe stands as the clearest candidate to start at center.
The promotion comes with a much harder job description.
Bench centers can sprint into games, hit bodies and change the temperature. Starters must read the floor before the action develops. Sharpe will need to identify the screener, recognize the spacing and call the coverage while the guard still crosses half court.
That work rarely reaches a highlight reel.
It decides whether the highlight happens.
Sharpe must win the possession before the shot
Blocks make noise. Rebounds end possessions.
Sharpe already understands the second part. His size allows him to hold ground against traditional centers, while his strong hands help him secure the ball through traffic. Brooklyn needs that because a clean contest means little when the offense collects the miss and attacks a scrambled defense.
The tougher test comes earlier.
Can Sharpe retreat far enough to take away the lob without gifting the ball handler an open floater? Will he step up against a pull-up threat without exposing the baseline? When a wing rotates down, can Sharpe direct the next defender toward the corner?
Those decisions will shape his season.
One late step turns a contested runner into a dunk. An early rotation leaves a shooter alone. Sharpe cannot chase every fire. He must recognize which flame threatens the possession.
Brooklyn should simplify his reads whenever possible. Keep him near the paint. Ask guards to fight over screens. Force ball handlers toward his chest instead of making him defend empty space.
Give him a defined picture, and his strength can take over.
Give him two attackers at once, and the possession has already gone wrong.
Moe Wagner brings friction rather than fear
Moe Wagner plays every possession as if someone insulted his family.
He sprints into screens, talks constantly and throws his body into crowded spaces. Opponents feel him. Officials hear him. Teammates feed off him.
Brooklyn signed Wagner to a reported two-year, $19 million deal after he averaged 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds across 36 games with Orlando. His arrival gives the second unit a useful offensive weapon.
Wagner can drag slower centers away from the rim, slip screens and attack a tilted floor. He also draws contact because he cuts with purpose and rarely drifts through a possession.
His defense presents the problem.
Wagner competes, but effort cannot create extra wingspan. He will take charges and battle for position. He will not erase a steady parade of guards reaching the restricted area.
Brooklyn must protect him before those drives begin. Ellis and the young guards need to pressure the ball, fight through screens and force attacks toward help.
Otherwise, Wagner will spend his minutes choosing between two bad outcomes.
That limitation makes Noah Clowney even more important.
Noah Clowney could become the hidden answer
Clowney may hold the most interesting role on the roster.
Randle’s arrival threatens his starting minutes at power forward. Sharpe’s promotion blocks the direct path at center. Yet Brooklyn may need Clowney more than ever because he offers something neither veteran big supplies.
He can become the second jumper.
When Sharpe steps toward the ball, Clowney can slide across the lane and challenge from the weak side. His length gives Brooklyn another defender who can meet the ball above the rim rather than waiting underneath it.
That role demands discipline.
Clowney cannot chase every blocked shot. Smart offenses will use his aggression against him, lifting one shooter above the break while sneaking another behind his vision. A mistimed rotation creates the same layup he tried to prevent.
Rebounding presents another test.
Pairing Clowney with Sharpe gives Brooklyn more size, but the lineup may squeeze the offense unless Clowney’s outside shot commands respect. Using him beside Randle creates better spacing, though it leaves Clowney handling more center duties against heavier opponents.
Every lineup adjustment fixes one leak while opening another.
Camp should reveal which compromise Fernández can live with.
Brooklyn’s guards cannot keep handing out runway
A center usually receives the blame when the ball reaches the rim.
The first mistake often happens 20 feet away.
A guard stands too upright. The screen catches his shoulder. His feet cross as he tries to recover. Suddenly, Sharpe must stop the ball handler and the rolling center by himself.
That is not Nets rim protection.
That is damage control.
Brooklyn’s young backcourt must learn how little room NBA guards need. Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré and Mikel Brown Jr. will face stronger screeners, sharper changes of pace and veteran creators who recognize a defender’s top foot instantly.
Camp should attack those habits every day.
Can Dëmin lower his hips and slide through contact? Will Traoré regain his rhythm after knee rehabilitation? Does Brown stay attached without riding the ball handler’s back and opening a direct lane toward the basket?
Young guards often watch the ball after getting screened. NBA offenses punish that half-second by sending cutters behind them or forcing the low man to choose between the rim and the corner.
Fernández needs connected effort, not frantic recovery.
That makes Ellis one of Brooklyn’s most important additions.
The Nets signed him to a reported two-year, $18 million contract after he averaged 8.3 points and shot 49.1 percent during 29 games with Cleveland. His greatest value may come before the box score starts counting.
Ellis pressures the ball, slips around screens and makes scorers work before they reach their preferred spot.
He cannot guard every dangerous creator.
His habits can teach the roster what resistance looks like.
Camp must establish rules that survive pressure
The Nets do not need one spectacular preseason block.
They need five defenders making the same read.
Fernández must establish who calls the pick-and-roll coverage, which wing tags the roller and who rotates toward the corner. Those rules should remain clear when the lineup changes, the crowd grows loud or a rookie misses an assignment.
Sharpe should anchor the base defense.
Clowney can roam from the weak side. Ellis should take the toughest perimeter matchup. Randle must rebound and communicate. Wagner can change the pace while bringing offense to the second unit.
None of those roles can remain vague.
Brooklyn also needs a concrete measuring stick. By the final two preseason games, the Nets should aim to hold opponents below 45 paint touches per 100 possessions. That benchmark would not guarantee an elite defense, but it would show that guards are containing the ball and the back line is closing space early.
Coaches should pair that target with three other numbers: attempts at the rim, second-chance points and defensive rebounding percentage.
A possession that ends with a forced kick-out counts as a win.
So does an early pass caused by Sharpe’s positioning. The center does not need to touch the ball to change the shot.
That is the real measure of Nets rim protection. Does the defense make a driver hesitate before he leaves the floor?
Last season, that hesitation rarely came.
Brooklyn may still need another defensive center
The Nets can build a workable defensive committee.
Sharpe provides strength and rebounding. Clowney adds length. Wagner brings energy. Randle supplies physicality, while Ellis improves the point of attack.
The arrangement remains fragile.
An injury to Sharpe would leave Brooklyn without a natural starting center. A difficult matchup could force Clowney into minutes against heavier big men. Wagner’s offense may earn court time that his defense struggles to support.
One more veteran rim protector would give Fernández breathing room.
Brooklyn does not need an expensive name. A low-cost center who understands drop coverage, communicates early and rebounds his area could stabilize ugly nights. He could also protect Sharpe from foul trouble and keep Clowney out of assignments that slow his development.
The front office can let camp provide the evidence.
Brooklyn’s October 14 preseason trip to Miami should offer an early answer. The Heat will test the exact pressure points Fernández must repair: screen navigation, early help and defensive rebounding. If Miami’s guards keep turning the corner untouched, Sharpe and Wagner will spend the night choosing between layups and lobs.
The numbers will confirm what the film shows. If opponents keep exceeding Brooklyn’s 45-paint-touch target, the committee needs help.
Claxton once gave the Nets a dependable last line.
In Miami, the first clean drive may reveal whether Brooklyn has built another one.
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FAQs
Who will replace Nic Claxton as the Nets’ starting center?
Day’Ron Sharpe gets the first opportunity. Noah Clowney can help from the weak side, while Moe Wagner gives Brooklyn another second-unit option.
Can Day’Ron Sharpe protect the rim for Brooklyn?
Sharpe has the strength and rebounding ability. His success will depend on quicker pick-and-roll reads, better positioning and stronger communication.
Why is Noah Clowney important to the Nets’ defense?
Clowney can become Brooklyn’s second rim defender. His length allows him to rotate behind Sharpe and challenge shots from the weak side.
Do the Nets need to sign another defensive center?
They may. Training camp should reveal whether Sharpe, Clowney and Wagner provide enough protection or whether Brooklyn needs a low-cost veteran.
