Cam Thomas Likely to Stay with Nets Despite Quiet Market and Contract Uncertainty

If anything, the Brooklyn Nets' negotiations with restricted free agent Cam Thomas have been incredibly vague. That's not exclusive to Thomas, as there doesn't appear to be a real market for any of the marquee restricted free agents.

Despite countless conversations surrounding Thomas, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Quentin Grimes, there's little confirmed information available on the restricted free agent market. It's known that Thomas and Brooklyn are far apart in contract talks, Kuminga is set to meet with interested teams in Las Vegas, Giddey isn't expected to get $30 million annually, and Grimes is expected to work things out with the 76ers. That's about it.

Because of the lack of interest in the aforementioned players, there's a real possibility that Thomas will play on the $5.9 million qualifying offer next season, with the goal of becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

NBA analyst Jake Weinbach provided updated insight into Thomas' situation on Thursday.

"Cam Thomas is in the same boat as some of the other restricted free agents this offseason," Weinbach posted to X. "The Nets are not going to pay relative value if there is no market for the 23-year-old guard outside of Brooklyn. Thomas can always sign the $5.9M qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026 if the two sides are far apart on extension talks, but either way, the prolific scorer is more than likely to be in a Nets uniform at the start of the 2025-26 season."

Perhaps letting next year play out with Thomas on the qualifying offer is the best course of action here. Free agency has been open for nearly two weeks, and Brooklyn had months before the summer even started to gameplan. If the two sides are still this far apart, putting a hold on negotiations could prove beneficial.

If a rival team enters the equation, then that's a different story. Even the interest of just one other franchise would help the Nets end this saga, as it would at least give them a foundational offer to build on.

But until that happens, Thomas could be headed for a slim paycheck for what could be his final year in Brooklyn.