Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is experiencing his first taste of free-agency this offseason at a time where it may be hard for him to get paid what he wants. It appears that Brooklyn wants to bring Thomas back and Thomas has made it clear that he wants to be back with the Nets, but the former LSU Tiger isn’t selling himself short just to get back to something familiar.

“Thomas has openly said he views himself as one of the best shooting guards in the league,” Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote as he was explaining the situation between Thomas and Brooklyn. Thomas is a restricted free-agent this offseason after having the best season of his career in the 2024-25 season, but it seems that all of the notable restricted free-agents are having to slow-play their negotiations.

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“A source familiar with Thomas’ thinking said he does not consider himself inferior to Immanuel Quickley ($32.5 million this upcoming season), Tyler Herro ($31 million) or RJ Barrett ($27.7 million),” Lewis continued when talking about what Thomas could be looking for. Over the past couple of years, there has been plenty of discussion over how valuable is within the context of the NBA.

As The Ringer’s Zach Lowe relayed on an episode of his podcast, Thomas seems to be one of the more polarizing players in the NBA because of the chasm that exists between his supporters and detractors. For some fans, Thomas is a star on the rise that has been misunderstood while others believe that Thomas is not as valuable as his numbers suggest because that production has come on a non-competitive team.

Thomas is coming off a season in which he averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land, but that was during a campaign in which Brooklyn finished with a 26-56 record. Be that as it may, Thomas has made it clear how much he believes in himself and according to Lewis, the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft is operating that way this summer.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Report: Nets’ Cam Thomas could be looking for a big raise this summer