Inside Cam Thomas’ $6M Qualifying Offer: Why the Nets Guard Took This Path

Cam Thomas will be a Brooklyn Net in the 2025-26 season—which could be his last with the franchise that made him a first-round pick back in 2021. Thomas agreed to the one-year, $6 million qualifying offer last week, ending a summer-long contract standoff, but how did we get here?

The saga began well before the offseason. You have to travel back to the beginning of last season, where Brooklyn opted not to work out an extension with the talented scorer before the deadline for rookie-scale extensions for members of the 2021 draft class. The Nets gave Thomas a "prove it year," and unfortunately for the 23-year-old, he was limited to just 25 games.

That's pretty much all that happened on Thomas' front until the summer began. That's when talks intensified—and they got ugly. Thomas wiped his social media accounts of all traces of Brooklyn. He was reportedly seeking a deal that paid him $30-$40 million annually, a figure the Nets refused to even come close to offering.

Instead, they gave him two offers: a two-year, $30 million contract and a one-year, $9.5 million contract. Thomas turned down both, opting for control instead of money. He could've taken the extra $3.5 million he would've received from the second offer, but that grants the franchise the ability to trade him, as he'd be an expiring contract.

Thomas clearly wants to hit the open market next year, this time with no restrictions, and for good reason.

If he can stay healthy, it seems quite likely he posts another career year. Now that Michael Porter Jr. has come over from Denver, opposing defenses can't zero in on Thomas like they previously have, allowing him even more offensive freedom than he was already in possession of.

Plus, unlike this summer, there won't be a cap-space crisis. Despite his polarization, it's hard to believe no one outside of Brooklyn held interest in Thomas. There just wasn't any money available to pay him. Not only will that change, but it could drive up his price if the Nets have a desire to bring him back post-qualifying offer.

So, that's how we got here. Was it handled well by Brooklyn? How about by Thomas? Should this relationship be presumed over, despite it contractually lasting for one more season?

Unfortunately, none of those questions can really be answered right now. We have to wait and see how the 2025-26 campaign unfolds, as that will be the biggest determining factor in where Thomas is suiting up a year in advance.