The Brooklyn Nets had two standout players in trade rumors leading up to the deadline. Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas were viewed as potential moving pieces. Neither was dealt away before 3 PM ET on Thursday, but that doesn’t mean they will both stay.
Cam Thomas will end up hitting waivers this week. The Nets shocked the basketball world with their decision right after the deadline. The veteran guard was playing on a one-year deal, worth $5.9 million. It was a qualifying offer after he had a quiet restricted free agency.
Shortly after the decision was made, Thomas reportedly sent a message to his next team.
“Super excited, ready to actually help and contribute to another team,” Thomas told Marc J. Spears. “My next team is getting elite scoring, good playmaking, and a good combo guard.”
Throughout Thomas’s Brooklyn tenure, he had a difficult time earning the trust of his organization. On paper, his numbers were typically impressive from an offensive standpoint. Following the Nets’ failed superteam run, Thomas was a diamond in the rough. However, the Nets were hesitant to make him a long-term piece for the organization.
Over the past two seasons, Thomas averaged 22.9 points, while shooting 44 percent from the field and knocking down 35 percent of his threes. He hoped to land a long-term deal in free agency last summer, but the market was skeptical as a whole, leading Thomas to wisely pick up the offer he had from Brooklyn.
This season, injuries affected Thomas, leaving him appearing in just 24 games and starting only eight of them. He saw the court for 24 minutes per game. It was considered a down year for Thomas, as he shot 39 percent from the field, while averaging 15.6 points per game.
It’s clear that interest in Thomas remained low throughout the trade season. Some reports have linked Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ultimately, there wasn’t much going on from the trade front. Perhaps that will change as Thomas is now available without giving up any further assets. At 24, the veteran guard has several years of experience. Clearly, he’s embracing the next step, wherever that may be.
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