Why teams weren't lining up to sign elite scorer Cam Thomas

Cam Thomas is a scoring machine. Last season, when healthy, he averaged 24 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25 games. 

But despite that offensive output, the Brooklyn Nets only dangled two uninspiring offers: a two-year, $30M deal with a team option, and a one-year, $9.5M deal with up to $11M in incentives. Neither was enough to keep him — he instead signed the $6M qualifying offer, betting on himself to get a bigger payday in 2026.

That begs the question: Why weren’t teams lining up with big numbers for a guy who fills arenas with his buckets? The answer lies less in offense and more in a modernization mismatch. 

Cam Thomas' style isn't what NBA wants right now

Thomas is what analytics consider an archetypal isolation scorer: high usage, limited playmaking, defensive challenges. His assist rate last season was a league-low 13.9%, and his defensive rating sits near 118. That style — volume scoring without versatility — is increasingly less valuable.

In today’s NBA, franchises crave two-way wings, position-less players and ball-distribution from every body on the floor. They want flexibility, not fireworks. Thomas delivers the latter, but his game doesn’t scale across multiple lineups. And as the Nets reset, they’re making room for a modern, multipurpose look.

Add another dilemma: Brooklyn just added Michael Porter Jr., a max-paying star who needs shot opportunities and lacks playmaking. Thomas, also wanting the ball, doesn’t fit neatly into that mix. Blocking his shot volume or floor time would diminish what he does best: scoring. It’s a redundancy for which the Nets clearly avoided overpaying.

The roster architecture is shifting, too. Brooklyn’s rebuilding — stacking draft picks, trading for youth and juggling the cap carefully. Committing to more than approximately $14M annually for an iso scorer clashes with a flexible, controlled model. Accepting the qualifying offer gives Thomas the chance to showcase himself next season — and possibly find a team better architected for his strengths — without locking the Nets into inefficiency.

The choices all make sense when you look at the market. Restricted free agency is broken for a player of Thomas' profile. The league has little cap wiggle room — few teams want to sacrifice fluid offense for tunnel scoring. He tried to justify his value by pointing to stars like Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green, but Green brings more length, defense and spacing upside.

So the offers were “bad” not because Thomas isn’t talented — he can score like few others — but because his style doesn’t match what the NBA covets right now. In Memphis, in Detroit, maybe his offense could flourish — but right now, he’s boxed in by his skillset and the timing.

Thomas took the low road this summer: short-term deal, freedom next year, proof to show. It may not light up the headlines, but it’s smart timing for a player riding offense but needing opportunity. The real gamble is whether his confidence and scoring alone will compel a team to bet on volume in a metrics-driven world.