Nets' Cam Thomas Labeled Loser of the Offseason

This offseason had some interesting twists and turns for the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets were a bit of a forgotten factor throughout the NBA this summer. While Brooklyn had some cap space and made some big moves on draft night, the rest of their summer wasn’t exactly noteworthy.

However, Brooklyn still made at least some headlines because of its restricted free agent. Joining a few others around the league, Cam Thomas’ restricted free agency dragged on well past the typical free agent window before he accepted the qualifying offer in September, effectively choosing to bet on himself.

Considering Thomas didn’t get the money he was hoping for, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes added him to a recent article as a loser of the offseason. 

“Thomas is back in Brooklyn after accepting his $6 million qualifying offer, a wildly disappointing result for a player who once expected to earn $30-40 million per season, sources told Nets Daily's Lucas Kaplan,” Hughes wrote. “That discrepancy could be viewed as the league getting wise to the actual value of empty scoring, but only if Thomas were the only RFA struggling to get his bag.”

Of course, Hughes is alluding to the fact that Thomas wasn’t alone in that loser category, with Jonathan Kuminga and Quintin Grimes also joining the club. Meanwhile, Josh Giddey, with his surprising four-year, $100 million deal, secured a spot in the winners category.

Any deal near that type of number for Thomas would have also made him a clear winner. Considering Thomas’ play style is polarizing at best, finding that type of money in restricted free agency was almost never a possibility.

Without the fear of Brooklyn matching next summer, there might be a better market for Thomas in 2026, but he will have to showcase why he’s worth that type of deal next season. In 2024-25, the 2021 first-round pick averaged 24 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 turnovers but played in only 25 games.

Although injuries haven’t typically been a main concern up to this point, an unhealthy season next year could jeopardize his hopes of getting the pay day he thought was coming a couple of months ago. If Thomas could also showcase that he is a more willing passer and ready to contribute in more of a sixth man role, there could be a real market for him in the future.

However, if he continues to sell himself as a No. 1 scoring option in Brooklyn, he might be waiting just as long for a deal in 2026.