“Bet on yourself” is a phrase heard many times in the NBA or in any sport. Best example of a player who won his bet is Fred Van Vleet who became an All-Star from being a fringe NBA player. Can Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets achieve the same thing?
Thomas headed into the summer hoping to strike a greater deal with the Nets. He did not get and instead, he settled for a $6 million qualifying offer. It is understood that he is going to use this season to raise his value.
Some critics are not seeing his plans coming into fruition. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes put him in the Biggest Losers of summer alongside other unsigned free agents because of it.
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. 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.
Thomas played just 25 games last season due to recurring injuries. He had a good stretch of scoring but his availability is a problem. He finished the 2024-25 season averaging 24 points per game.
Cam Thomas will likely leave by next summer
One factor that will affect Thomas’ bid for a more prominent role which will be his ticket to his bigger contract is his usage.
Nets are not expected to contended by they did sign new players for their rebuild. Among them is Michael Porter Jr. who they received by trading away Cameron Johnson to the Denver Nuggets. It is reported that Brooklyn will favor MPJ more on the offense, leaving Thomas as a second option.
With this possibility, there is a high chance Thomas will be out of Brooklyn once the new season is settled.
“Thomas opted to play out the coming season on the $5.99 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. It almost certainly points to a departure,” wrote New York Posts reporter Brian Lewis.
“Generally speaking, a player taking the qualifying offer signals the marriage being over, not just the honeymoon.”
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