Could the Nets Pair Cam Thomas and Jonathan Kuminga in Brooklyn?

Nearly a month into NBA free agency, it's apparent that the restricted free agent market is essentially nonexistent. Cam Thomas, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Quentin Grimes all remain available, seemingly with no end in sight to their contract disputes with their respective franchises.

And it has almost nothing to do with the caliber of player any of them are.

As time goes on, their individual values do nothing but diminish. They could all choose to play on the qualifying offer and become unrestricted free agents next season, but it'd be hard to imagine Thomas, Kuminga, Giddey or Grimes not wanting the added security/insurance in exchange for being able to choose where they play next season.

Could there be some strange scenario where Brooklyn, which has been uncertain of Thomas since late October (the Nets chose not to extend him before the deadline for rookie-scale contracts), manages to re-sign Thomas and add Kuminga?

Short answer: no.

While there have been countless on-and-off rumors about a Kuminga-Brooklyn pairing, here's why they wouldn't be able to double dip in restricted free agency.

Both Thomas and Kuminga want between $25 and $30 million annually, a number that the latter likely has a better chance of securing. That's not because he's worth more than Thomas, but according to Zach Lowe, NBA execs don't value Thomas very highly.

So, for argument's sake, let's say Thomas eventually settles for about $12 million—which is his current cap hold.

The Nets have somewhere between $19 and $24 million available, meaning Kuminga's deal would have to be significantly lower than he's seeking.

So, is it possible? Likely not. However, there's one very unlikely situation where it could happen, and it's all due to risk over reward.

Do Thomas and Kuminga—given their injury histories—want to "bet on themselves?"

Thomas played just 24 games last season, while Kuminga played 47 (although some missed games were due to DNPs).

The only way Brooklyn could draw both is if each player opts against betting on themselves and just takes a guaranteed, multi-year deal.

Which won't happen.

So long story short: you won't see Thomas and Kuminga take the floor as teammates next season, barring some asinine turn of events or shocking late-summer trade.