Report: Nets and Free Agent Cam Thomas ‘Very Far Apart in Negotiations’

As one of just two teams in free agency without negative cap space, the Brooklyn Nets are in a strong position to navigate the rest of the offseason and lead their rebuild. But the lingering question is whether the team’s most dynamic scorer over the past two seasons will be part of that process.

With a reported asking price of up to $25 million per year, most teams simply don’t have the cap space to sign him, even if they’re interested. This leaves Brooklyn as one of his few realistic options. Still, reports suggest that there hasn’t been much progress between the two sides.

"The Nets have their own restricted free agency problem to solve with Cam Thomas, as the two sides have been very far apart in negotiations," said ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel. "Whether or not Thomas will ultimately accept his qualifying offer and bet on himself before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2026 has become an interesting topic of discussion for Brooklyn if Thomas is unwilling to come down on his asking price."

On June 29, the Nets offered Thomas a one-year, $5.99 million qualifying offer, which officially made him a restricted free agent.

Despite leading all freshmen in scoring and earning First-Team All-SEC honors at LSU, Thomas had a modest start to his NBA career. But in his third season, he broke out and established himself as a reliable and skilled scorer by averaging 22.5 points per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range.

Last season, Thomas averaged a career-high 24 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game, but was limited to just 25 games while dealing with a hamstring injury.

While his high asking price appears to be slowing down contract talks, Thomas has made it clear that he wants to stay in Brooklyn.

“I definitely, definitely want to be back in Brooklyn. It’s definitely home for me,” Thomas told WTKR, a local TV station in his hometown of Chesapeake, Va. “Being drafted there, you build bonds with a lot of people. So I definitely love it there.”