Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas was having a tough time this offseason trying to get the kind of deal that he felt that he deserved following the best season of his career. Brooklyn and Thomas were taking their time in negotiations as the former LSU star was holding out for the kind of deal that he wanted, but he ultimately spurned those offers for the qualifying offer (QO).
“Brooklyn was unable to reach a long-term deal with Thomas, so the 23-year-old high-scoring guard opted for the qualifying offer that gives him a full no-trade clause and sets him for unrestricted free agency next summer, when at least 10 teams are set to have cap space,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote on Thursday. Charania reported on Thursday that Thomas chose to take his $6 million QO to end his free-agency.
“Thomas’ representatives, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis of Octagon, discussed several frameworks of deals with the Nets,” Charania continued. “But, [they[ ultimately declined Brooklyn’s offers of two years and $30 million with a team option for the second season or one year and $9.5 million with incentives up to $11 million while waiving the no-trade clause, sources said.”
Thomas, 23, is coming off a 2024-25 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. Thomas, the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was able to have his most productive season in the NBA since coming out of college, but he played in just 25 games as he dealt with a troublesome left hamstring for the majority of the campaign.
The fact that Thomas turned down offers from the Nets for either two years and $30 million or one year with the chance to earn as much as $11 million shows that he is betting on himself for next season. The good news for Thomas is that he will be an unrestricted free-agent next offseason where he will have the leverage to go wherever he wants during a summer where more teams should have cap space.