NBA Notes: Nets, Cam Thomas, Suns, Mason Jones

Cam Thomas will be back with the Nets on a one-year qualifying offer worth nearly $6 million, but it is hardly a long-term commitment.

As Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported, Thomas did not draw much external interest in restricted free agency. Brooklyn also showed little inclination to bid against itself.

Thomas remains well-regarded in the organization — Lewis wrote that he has “fans at the highest level in the Nets front office” — but general manager Sean Marks also spent draft night targeting play-making guards. That suggests Thomas may not see the same offensive freedom moving forward.

By signing the qualifying offer, Thomas secured an implied no-trade clause. From the team side, that means Brooklyn cannot move him without his approval. From the player side, it means sacrificing short-term money for control of his future.

“On a team that’s not trying to win and doesn’t care, if he signs the qualifying offer he runs the risk they don’t feature him after October,” a league source told Lewis. “A team that isn’t trying to win, you’re stuck.”

Cap update in Brooklyn: According to cap analyst Yossi Gozlan, the Nets are projected to be about $7 million below the 2025-26 salary floor if they re-sign Ziaire Williams to the same deal Day’Ron Sharpe received.

That would leave Brooklyn in position to add assets in another salary-dump trade. Sharpe’s new contract is two years, $12.5 million, with a team option for the second season.

Suns add Schumacher: The Suns signed free agent guard Alex Schumacher to a training camp contract, per Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot.

The former Seattle University guard averaged 8.2 points and 3.1 assists in the G League last season. His Exhibit 10 deal is expected to funnel him back to Phoenix’s affiliate, the Valley Suns, where he can earn a bonus of up to $85,300.

Jones heading overseas: Mason Jones is leaving the NBA for Australia. Olgun Uluc of ESPN reported that the free agent guard is finalizing a deal with the Perth Wildcats of the NBL.

Jones, 27, finished last season on a two-way contract with Sacramento and led Stockton to the G League title, capturing Finals MVP honors.

The Arkansas product has logged 51 NBA appearances with the Rockets, Sixers, Lakers and Kings. He now joins a Perth team that went 18-11 last year and reached the NBL semifinals.