Subscribe
Follow Us
Cam Thomas remains one of the NBA's most polarizing players four years into his career. While his skeptics remained loud, Thomas made it clear how he viewed himself entering the first free agency of his career.
“When I got major minutes, I feel like I've been one of the best guards in the league at my position. When I do have the minutes in a featured role, the sky's the limit for me. We've seen that these past two years,” he told ClutchPoints at the end of the season.
Thomas' high opinion of himself has been reflected in his asking price for his next contract. League sources told ClutchPoints that the Nets guard's camp entered negotiations with allusions to Jalen Green ($35 million annually), Immanuel Quickley ($32.5 million annually) and Jordan Poole's ($32 million annually) deals.
However, given the NBA's cap landscape, Thomas has little leverage to land such a payday. Brooklyn is the NBA's only team with significant cap space. Opposing teams seeking to sign Thomas to an offer sheet are limited to the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, giving the Nets little incentive to exceed that number.
It doesn't appear as if they will.
Will Cam Thomas, Nets agree to a new contract in free agency?
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Nets haven’t offered Cam Thomas anything more than a two-year deal at $14 million annually with a team option in the second year. Based on recent comments from Brooklyn's front office, it's not surprising that they aren't breaking the bank to retain Thomas.
After the Nets selected three talented playmakers in the first round of this year's draft, ClutchPoints asked general manager Sean Marks about his philosophy.
“It’s 0.5-second basketball, you catch and make a decision. You don’t hold the ball,” he replied. “It’s also where the NBA is going: guys who can play multiple positions, guard multiple positions and make it hard on the defense.”
Those descriptors are the antithesis of Thomas thus far in his career.
The former first-round pick has flashed elite scoring ability, but not much else. Thomas remained a poor defender during his fourth NBA season, posting a +6.8 defensive rating swing. That was the worst mark on the Nets and the eighth-worst among all NBA players to play over 700 minutes, per CleaningTheGlass.
During the 2023-24 season, Thomas ranked 405th out of 422 players to play over 500 minutes in potential assists per one minute spent on the ball, according to stats compiled by The NBA Underground. Last year, he posted a 13.9 assist ratio (percentage of a player's possessions that end in an assist), ranking 104th out of 129 qualified shooting guards, according to ESPN.
Thomas unleashed an NSFW rant at Zach Lowe when the Ringer podcast host relayed NBA executives' concerns about his skillset. The Nets guard's words did little to inspire hope that he would reassess how he approaches the game.
Yet, in a new CBA that restricts spending, that's exactly what Thomas will need to do if he hopes to land a payday approaching $30 million.
While Brooklyn's reported two-year, $28 million offer is well below what Thomas was hoping for, it's implausible that he'll find a better deal elsewhere. If Thomas is not keen on accepting the deal, he could sign his $6 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. In such a scenario, he would have veto rights on any trade during the season.
Accepting the QO would be a risky decision for Thomas, one that would likely signal the beginning of the end of his Nets tenure. The LSU product battled injuries last season, appearing in just 25 games due to three left hamstring strains. Even if he stays healthy, there's no guarantee his market will be more expansive next summer.
However, Thomas has never lacked confidence throughout his basketball career. Whether he'll gamble on himself next season is one of the NBA offseason's top remaining questions.
