Cameron Thomas, the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft, has signed his rookie contract with the Nets, the team announced today in a press release.
While terms weren’t officially disclosed, we can project what Thomas will earn based on the NBA’s rookie scale. If he signed for the maximum allowable amount – as most first-rounders do – the 6’4″ guard will earn a first-year salary of $2.04MM and a four-year total of $10.46MM. The third and fourth years of the deal will be team options.
Thomas, who declared for the draft following his freshman season at LSU, was one of college basketball’s top scorers in 2020/21, averaging 23.0 points per contest in 29 games (34.0 MPG). Although the 19-year-old struggled a little with his shot from the floor (40.6%) and from beyond the three-point line (32.5%), his ability to get to the free throw line (7.6 attempts per game) and make his foul shots (88.2%) was a big plus.
Brooklyn entered draft night last Thursday with four picks and – somewhat surprisingly – kept all of them and agreed to acquire another, drafting five players in total. We should hear more in the coming days about the Nets finalizing deals with some of their other draftees.
Landry Shamet, but better
The Nets may have been one of the best fits for Thomas… but he did not look happy in the draft room. Supposedly it’s all 1v1 with him, but the Nets are star-based, he will fit right in.