Are Nets planning rebuild around wrong player?

The Brooklyn Nets are starting from scratch once again following the firing of head coach Jacque Vaughn on Monday. A report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that the franchise intends to rebuild its roster around 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward Mikal Bridges. 

The Nets replaced Vaughn with interim coach Kevin Ollie and are 21-33 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings heading into Thursday’s game at Toronto. Brooklyn is also 8-22 over the last 30 games. 

The revelation that Bridges will be the centerpiece moving forward has raised the question of whether or not he’s even the best player on the team right now. Another way of thinking might see 6-foot-4 shooting guard Cam Thomas as the player the team should focus on moving forward. 

Thomas is one of the NBA’s top young scoring talents — the third-year player out of LSU is averaging 21.2 points this season despite constantly finding himself in Vaughn's doghouse over his defense. Bridges, who is in his seventh season, is averaging 21.7 points. 

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks called Thomas personally to tell him Vaughn was fired and being replaced with Ollie. 

“You see (Thomas) involving his teammates; you see him making the right reads and really trying to play with his teammates,” Marks told the New York Post right before Vaughn's firing. “It’s exciting to see where Cam can take his game.” 

The Nets are on track to be a major player in the offseason with Ben Simmons' $40.3 million contract expiring along with having four first-round picks obtained from the Phoenix Suns in the trade for Bridges last season. The Nets also have two extra first-round picks obtained in trades with the Sixers and Mavericks, including a 2027 top-eight protected pick and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick. 

The Nets have already picked up the $4 million option on Thomas for 2024-2025 but could offer him a contract extension this summer. Bridges is due a relatively pedestrian $23.3 million in 2024-25 and $24.9 million in 2025-26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.