The Brooklyn big delivered a truth bomb regarding the future of Cam Thomas ahead of the league's trade deadline.
Nic Claxton handles the dirty work as of late for the Brooklyn Nets with grabbing rebounds and igniting the defensive charge.
But he watched a reserve lead the scoring way. One who sparked the rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Cam Thomas rose as the toast of the New York region in dropping 30 points in just 20 minutes. That scoring outpour even stunned Claxton.
"He was so efficient. Just effortless..." Claxton said via the YES Network after beating the T-Wolves 123-107.
Claxton then delivered a three-word honest declaration about Thomas' Nets future.
"We need him," Claxton bluntly said.
The forward and center then detailed why he believes Thomas has a place with Brooklyn -- even as a rumored trade candidate. And as someone who came off the bench after averaging 21.4 points per game beforehand but still the subject of trade rumblings.
"He takes our team to a whole (different) level," Claxton said. "Especially with the way we're playing. Especially defensively when things get stagnant and he can score at will."
Claxton couldn't help but feel elated about the return of Thomas to the Nets lineup.
"I'm super happy for him, he's been through a lot," Claxton said. "His body is holding up. He just needs to stay healthy and keeping stacking days."
Claxton, again, handled the harder duties of cleaning up the glass and forcing contested shots. He hauled down six rebounds to go along with 14 points.
Brooklyn is continuing an impressive December -- winning its last seven of 10 games. Yet Claxton said that the positivity was high during the early season slump.
"We put a lot of hard work in. It's just good vibes...everybody is rocking with one another," Claxton said.
Claxton isn't the only one raving about the return of Thomas. Day'Ron Sharpe was another who witnessed the effect of Thomas' presence.
"He brings elite scoring in all three levels that we need as a team, it was great," Sharpe said after the win. "I already knew what he was going to do, I've been seeing it everyday since I got here, we came in here together. It just felt good to have him on the court with us tonight."
Brooklyn now looks deeper in the scoring lineup with Thomas back healthy. He dealt with a lingering hamstring injury that started in early November. He eventually lost some ground to rookies Egor Demin and Danny Wolf. Now, Thomas adds to the Nets' newfound momentum.