Cam Thomas Estimates His Value Among NBA's Best Young Scorers

The Brooklyn Nets are now over a month into Cam Thomas' restricted free agency. After countless reports of what a preferred contract may look like for him, he has named a new group of players he believes he is on the same level as. The compared players are Tyler Herro, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Quickley will make $32.5 million in the upcoming NBA season, Herro $31 million and Barrett $27.7 million. Thomas has been firm on getting a deal within the $25-30 million per year range. The Nets reportedly offered him a two-year contract worth $14.1 million annually.

The New York Post's Brian Lewis joined Erik Slater on the Locked ON Nets podcast to share his thoughts on the situation.

“Was it surprising to me that the offer wasn't higher? No, not particularly," Lewis said. "The Nets, as has been reported ad nauseam, are the only team that has significant money to spend. So they're disincentivized to bid against themselves.”

The bottom line of Brooklyn's financial situation is trying not to allocate all its funds into one asset. While Thomas may have put up similar stats to the players he mentioned above, he has not seen as much team success as they have.

Herro is the best player of the bunch, the only one with an all-star appearance. He also won the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2021-22 season. Thomas averaged 24 points per game in 25 games last season, but Herro put up 23.9 points per game in three times the games and shot better from the field and three-point range.

Compared to Barrett is interesting because the two play different positions and different roles for their teams. Although Barrett has not achieved the same scoring numbers over the past two seasons, he has demonstrated greater skill as a playmaker and rebounder than Thomas.

The player making the most money next season is the closest to what Thomas is as a player. Quickley's $32.5 million is a substantial salary for someone who has never broken 17.1 points per game. The few things Quickley has over Thomas are a better assist-to-turnover ratio and a better three-point percentage.

Thomas is more likely to play out the 2025-26 season on the $5.99 million qualifying offer than sign a deal near any of the three players talked about previously. If an agreement is made, expect it to be in the realm of $20-25 million for two or three years.