Cam Thomas and the Brooklyn Nets’ relationship has soured this summer.
Over the last four seasons, Cam Thomas has shown consistent growth on the Brooklyn Nets. He had the best campaign of his career last season.
The 23-year-old averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, albeit playing in just 25 games throughout the season.
Fast forward to now, and Thomas is a restricted free agent hoping to earn a massive contract extension. Unfortunately, it feels like the Nets do not view him as a potential superstar.
Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty ImagesJeff Teague addresses Cam Thomas’ situation with Jamal Crawford’s example
Thomas recently made headlines when he called out NBA analyst Zach Lowe after the latter slammed a ‘ball hog’ tag on him.
Another report claimed that the Nets offered Thomas a two-year, $14 million offer. Unfortunately, that’s way off from Thomas’ asking price of about $30 million per year.
Now, former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague shared his two cents on the Thomas-Nets stalemate with an example of ex-NBA vet Jamal Crawford.
“You never see too many straight scoring specialists get paid. It’s rare that you see that, unless you’re a superstar,” Teague said on the Club 520 podcast. “We think about it, Jamal Crawford, who was a great player, got paid when he was a starter.”
Teague added: “When he became Sixth Man of the Year, the most he probably got was $14 or $15 million. But you would think someone with his scoring potential would make $25 million. $14, $15, or $16 million is about your range.”
For context, Crawford enjoyed a 20-year stint in the NBA, averaging 14.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
Much like Thomas, Crawford’s biggest strength was his scoring ability. So it makes sense that Teague compared him to Cam.
Jeff Teague says Brooklyn Nets are ‘not disrespecting’ Cam Thomas
Going by Teague’s example, Thomas should still earn around $15 million per year in his new deal. Unfortunately, the Nets’ reported offer was less than half of that.
Keeping that in mind, is it safe to say that the Nets disrespected Thomas? Teague doesn’t seem to think so.
“They’re not disrespecting him, really. I know he averaged 24 but they’re looking at it like, ‘You’re doing this on our bad team.’ He’s looking at it like, ‘I’ve got potential to be a superstar,’” Teague continued.
“They just don’t see that in him. They’re still looking for the guy. If they thought he was, they would’ve paid him,” he concluded.
In conclusion, it feels like the most optimal solution to resolve this stalemate is to allow Thomas to leave this summer.
But the burning question still remains whether any NBA team would offer Cam his asking price of $30m annually? Only time will tell.