The Chicago Bulls hope to roll out their offseason trade pickup Nic Claxton soon, but the debut won’t come soon enough for them.
Preparing for their season opener, the Bulls are going into the new basketball season knowing that Claxton is not healthy enough to play right away.
When the head coach, Tiago Splitter, met with reporters on Monday (October 19), he announced that Claxton is “ramping up” and is going to be out for the next two weeks. He’ll get re-evaluated by then, leaving his target return date as a question mark.
“Claxton is doing some spot shooting as we Tweet,” Bulls reporter KC Johnson said on the social media platform, X. “Splitter clarified that Claxton is progressing and will be evaluated throughout and the two-week window is just an approximation.”
Claxton is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Bulls Add Nic Claxton For The 2026 NBA Season
The 27-year-old center joined the Bulls this offseason after being traded by the Brooklyn Nets.
Claxton started his career with Brooklyn, becoming a second-round pick for the team in 2019. Although he didn’t have a strong role throughout his first couple of seasons, Claxton became a rotational player by year three–and a starter by year four.
In 380 games with the Nets, Claxton averaged 10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. Last season, Claxton started all but one of his 69 games on the Nets. Seeing the court for 27.8 minutes per game, the veteran center averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He also blocked 1.1 shots per game on the defensive end.
Although the Bulls are a rebuilding squad, they hope that Claxton’s veteran experience can be a difference-maker, as they look to revamp the young team.