Nets guard Cam Thomas was limited to just 25 appearances this season due to a series of hamstring injuries, but he believes he has shown enough when healthy to prove that he can be a foundational piece for an NBA team, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“Yeah, of course. When I got major minutes, I feel like I’ve been one of the best guards in the league in my position,” Thomas said earlier this week. “I feel like I’ve shown that. So, nothing really to talk about with that. But I feel like 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.”
Thomas will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer and one league source who spoke to Lewis speculated that the high-scoring guard, who has averaged 22.9 points per game in 91 outings since the start of the 2023/24 season, could command a contract in the range of $20-22MM per year. For his part, Thomas said he hasn’t thought much about free agency and isn’t necessarily excited about going through the process.
“I don’t really care. It’s just part of the business. Whoever wants me, hopefully it’s here (in Brooklyn). I’d love to come back. But it is what it is. It’s just part of the business,” he said, per Lewis. “I’m just going to take it day by day. It’s a long time from now, so I’m not really worried about that.”
We have more on the Nets:
- In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Lewis considers how Thomas’ latest absence will impact his Nets teammates. Cameron Johnson once again becomes Brooklyn’s top scoring option, Lewis writes, while Keon Johnson figures to hang onto his spot in the starting lineup and Maxwell Lewis gets a shot to play rotation minutes.
- Speaking of Lewis, the second-year forward – acquired from the Lakers in December’s D’Angelo Russell/Dorian Finney-Smith trade – has been making an impression on the franchise with his recent contributions, Lewis notes in another Post story. After scoring a total of just 21 points in his first 47 career NBA outings, Lewis has scored 28 in his last three and was a +30 in 57 minutes during that three-game stretch. “I like what I saw,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said of Lewis on Tuesday. “… His energy is contagious. And you can tell his teammates on the bench every time he does something positive, they celebrate. That’s the most important thing. You see that chemistry.” Lewis’ minimum salary for next season is partially guaranteed for just $100K, so he’ll be motivated to earn his 2025/26 roster spot.
- Cameron Johnson was one of the NBA’s most notable in-season trade candidates who didn’t end up being moved prior to the February 6 deadline. Speaking to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Johnson admitted that it was a stressful period for him, knowing he could be sent to a new team any day. “(It’s) probably not as fun as it is watching,” he said of the trade deadline. “Everybody, you want to know what’s going on in life. Uncertainty can be difficult.” The veteran forward also pointed out that he thought the Nets might be “just in a sale mode” after they traded Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder, so he interpreted the team’s decision to hang onto him as a sign that the front office remains high on what he brings to the team. “I do appreciate maybe the value that they associated with having me on the team versus getting rid of me,” Johnson said.
Will be interesting to see what direction they take this summer. Will they chance another tank job next szn, or do they try and build on the momentum and culture that Jordi has developed? I don’t see how they can delay building on what they’ve started and risk losing that momentum. As some have said, they’ll “wait” until a star player becomes available by trade rather than be active in free agency this summer… but stars don’t normally opt to go to a rebuild non-playoff situation.
They are better off taking the next step forward and deploying some of their cap space and making them an attractive destination by the time a star becomes available.
My guess is they thread the needle. They will look to sign players on 2 year deals with the 2nd year being team options to give themselves tradeable contracts and an avenue to have cap space next year. That way if a star becomes available in season they can get in on the action. Or they can just trade those vets at the deadline to add more picks to the pile. Or worst case they decline the options and have cap space again in the 2026 offseason.
I think in an ideal world for them they are adding notable free agents in 2026 to play with two impact young players from each of the next two drafts.
Why haven’t Nets converted Cam into a PG. there was a time in basketball. When all guards were expected to play both SG, PG.
Nets by now should have him able to handle PG duties. Big miss there. This is what I mean by teams not developing young players. He is a great scorer. Who is a liability on defense. Why wouldn’t you want to help him be better. Ridiculous man
Only way Cam might work. Is with a guy like Dejounte Murray. Otherwise he’s just a third guard.
With four picks in next yrs first round. Nets should be doing a full rebuild. Keep the young talent. Move everyone else.