Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas became a restricted free-agent this summer and while it is expected that Thomas will get his first big payday in the NBA, the process is progressing slowly. Brooklyn and Thomas’ camp have been taking their time in negotiations, most likely due to the fact that Thomas has to decide how he wants to handle the next year or so of his career.
“Only about 20 percent of his shot attempts happened at the rim, a poor number, and he’s not a particularly effective finisher when he gets there,” Michael Shearer wrote for HoopsHype recently. Shearer was giving his opinion on why the Nets should pay Thomas while also giving reasons for why Brooklyn should “squeeze” or bargain for a lower contract number for Thomas than he probably deserves in the general sense.
“He shot at positively Durantian levels from the midrange last season, and if that falls down even a tick, his overall efficiency will plummet,” Shearer continued while discussing the flaws in Thomas’ game at this point of his career. “Thomas is also not a particularly effective three-point shooter off the bounce, which is a problem for someone who is most comfortable with the ball in his hands.”
Thomas, 23, is coming off the best season of his four-year career as 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 during the 2024-25 campaign. While Thomas was arguably one of the better free-agents, restricted or otherwise, on the market this summer, he will be one of the last players to sign a contract because of few teams having cap space to spend.
At various points throughout last season, there were reports relaying that Thomas was expected to command somewhere between $20 million and $30 million per season on his next contract because of how he has played over the past two years. While Shearer gives plenty of good reasons for the Nets to pay Thomas what he wants in free-agency, they still have to use the market and his restricted status to their advantage because winning on the margins matter when it comes to team-building.
Ultimately, with where negotiations stand at the moment, Thomas can either choose to take a short-term deal so that he can still get his money and be back on the market at a more opportune time or take his $5.99 million qualifying offer. Thomas will have some tough choices to make before the beginning of the 2025-26 season so he is understandably taking some time to ponder the possibilities.