Retaining Cam Thomas Would be a Positive for Brooklyn Nets

Nets’ guard Cam Thomas remains the top restricted free agent on the market, with no apparent progress made on where he’ll play next season.

Reported deals have been made on Brooklyn’s end, though none have been bitten on. And the league-wide market for Thomas seems non-existent, albeit hard to pull off under current financial circumstances.

Logic points to Thomas remaining with the Nets on a short-term deal, and while much has been made of Thomas’ offensive-minded approach, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing for Brooklyn. 

There’s certainly merit to criticism of Thomas. While his 24.0 points per game across 25 games was impressive, he ranked fifth on the team in assists per game, pointing to a score-first mentality at any cost. Sometimes even to the detriment of winning basketball.

For that reason, his value is up-and-down on a case-to-case basis. Especially for the Nets’ as they seemingly enter a new era with a record five first round draftees.

While the eating up of shots might seem like a negative at first glance, it’s not such a bad thing for the Nets. The team does indeed have five rookies set to hit the ground running, but none of them necessarily own a ‘score-first’ mentality, and could instead be looking to make plays and create offense in other ways. Who the ball eventually gets to matters little, as long as there’s some scoring pressure taken off the newbies.

If anything, with another solid scoring season, Thomas could again bolster his value. Though if the market isn’t thriving now, it may not be a year from now, either.

Still, letting Thomas see first or second-option reps, if only for one more season, could be a fine play. Even if he replicates what he did last year for a full season, there’s little chance it would affect Brooklyn’s 2026 draft odds. Which at this point, are likely priority No. 1.

Additionally, retaining Thomas would likely mean the Nets did so on a deal they favored.

For now, Thomas’ situation will continue to be monitored both in Brooklyn and league-wide.