Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is on the verge of returning from an ankle sprain that has sidelined him for eight games. Thomas participated in full-court five-on-five scrimmages Tuesday ahead of Brooklyn's in-season tournament matchup with the Toronto Raptors, per head coach Jacque Vaughn.

“He's trending in the direction of hopefully playing with us soon,” Vaughn said. “We’ll get some reports back on how he felt after the session today. That was after shootaround, so hopefully we get some good feedback. But the fact that he participated is a good sign.”

Thomas was upgraded to doubtful on Brooklyn's initial status report Monday before being ruled out. The 23-year-old was averaging 28.7 points per game before his injury, the ninth-most in the NBA. Thomas' prolific halfcourt scoring was the focal point of a Nets offense that ranked ninth in the league before he went down.

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Thomas will have another opportunity to return when Brooklyn plays host to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

Dennis Smith Jr. was ruled out for Tuesday's game after he was initially listed him as questionable. The first-year Net has missed Brooklyn's last four games due to a lower back sprain. Vaughn said Smith Jr. participated in scrimmages alongside Thomas on Tuesday and is trending in a positive direction.

The former lottery pick's return would provide a significant boost to Brooklyn's 22nd-ranked defense. After signing for the minimum, Smith Jr. was allowing the second-lowest defended field goal percentage among all NBA guards (minimum 35 shots defended) at the time of his injury, per NBA.com/stats.