As the NBA continues to evolve, it feels like the center position evolves exponentially quicker. The three-point revolution ushered in a generation of big men who were comfortable launching from beyond the arc.
A logical consequence of that evolution has been the evolution of the big man’s defensive versatility. There’s nothing complicated at play here: if a player’s primary assignment shoots threes, you’ll benefit from being able to capably close out three-point attempts.
All of which is to provide some broad context for a specific question: should the Rockets pursue Nic Claxton?
Nic Claxton is the Archetypical Modern Big
Rumors indicate that the Rockets are interested in the soon-to-be Restricted Free Agent, among other potential backup bigs.