Cam Thomas is signing a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to return to the Brooklyn Nets, according to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN.
Thomas will become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
“Cam Thomas’ representatives, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis of Octagon, discussed several frameworks of deals with the Nets but 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,” Charania wrote.
Thomas appeared in 25 games last season for the Nets, who missed the playoffs again. He averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.1 blocks while shooting 43.8% from the field, 34.9% from beyond the arc and 88.1% from the free-throw line.
Thomas was the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of LSU. He has career averages of 15.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks with the Nets.
Most NBA teams view Thomas as a bench player, according to Grant Afseth of FastbreakJournal.com.
“He’s a talented scorer, but he’s kind of stuck in the middle right now. He wants star money, but a lot of teams see him more like a microwave scorer off the bench,” a veteran NBA scout told Afseth. “That disparity is what’s keeping him on the market.”
“He can flat-out score, no doubt about that,” an Eastern Conference scout told Afseth. “But teams want more than a bucket-getter at that price point. You’re talking $25–30 million per year — there’s got to be some defensive buy-in, some playmaking, some winning impact. That’s where the hesitation is.”
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