The Cam Thomas saga may not have reached an end, but it sure looks like this marriage is irretrievably broken and on its way to divorce. As Lucas Kaplan wrote for us:
The relationship is done. Cam Thomas accepted the qualifying offer in an effort to take full control of his career, a career that will not be set in Brooklyn for much longer. He has watched peers feature on playoff teams and sign contracts that approach $40 million in annual value, only to complete his rookie contract to collect dust
in the bureaucratic hell of restricted free agency as the franchise he grew up in declines to pay him what he feels he’s owed.
Moreover, there’s history. Only one player ever has re-signed with his former team long-term after playing a full season on a qualifying offer — Spencer Hawes in 2012-13. Thomas exercised his QO for one reason: to get his freedom. At the moment, we only know — or believe we know — only one side of the negotiation: what the Nets were offering, per Shams Charania.
The Nets were unable to reach a long-term deal with Thomas, so the 23-year-old high-scoring guard opted for the qualifying offer that gives him a full no-trade clause and sets him for unrestricted free agency next summer with at least 10 teams set to have cap space…
Thomas’ representatives, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis of Octagon, discussed several frameworks of deals with the Nets but ultimately declined Brooklyn’s offers of two years and $30 million with a team option for the second season or one year and $9.5 million with incentives up to $11 million while waiving the no-trade clause, sources said.
Shams did not report what Thomas wanted although from his report, it sure seems like he had access to Thomas’ agents who it would appear was his primary source. There have been reports that he wanted anywhere from $30 million to $40 million a year over several years, quite the gap from what the Nets were offering. And indeed, a league source told ND that a couple of weeks before the Nets guard opted out, that the two sides were “far apart.”
Sean Marks & co. had delayed what Jake Fischer described as “significant engagement” with Thomas until recently, wanting to work through their monopoly on NBA cap space first. The Nets also had as Lucas noted a “bureaucratic” advantage: no other team had cap space to offer Thomas a deal to his liking. It shouldn’t have surprised that the Nets were only offering him a figure around the MLE. That’s all any team had and the Nets had the right to match it. With so many teams near the luxury tax threshold and/or one of the two aprons, the market shrank further. The Nets were not going to bid against themselves.
And there is the reality that pundits repeated over and over during the summer: there was no market for him, period. As one league source, a decision-maker, told ND at the beginning of the process, giving the 23-year-old more than $10 million would ensure their “entire off-season goes from being amazing to shitty.” When we suggested that CamT was “polarizing,” he responded, “Not for people who work in the NBA.”
Finally, and this was not so much talked about, Thomas’s game with its dependence on isolation didn’t fit — at all — with what Marks and Jordi Fernandez has said is what the Nets will look like in 2025-26 and presumably beyond.
Said Fernández back in November: “The ball has energy, and I think if everybody touches the ball, everybody feels better. So that’s important for us, touching the paint is important.”
Then, the night of the Draft, Marks reiterated it: “It’s 0.5-second basketball, you catch and make a decision. You don’t hold the ball. It’s also where the NBA is going: guys who can play multiple positions, guard multiple positions, and make it hard on the defense.”
Does that sound like Cam Thomas? It does not. Did Marks comment and more importantly his five picks that night telegraph his discussions with Thomas? It certainly could have.
Thomas profanity-laced tweets directed at Zach Lowe who had called him, “an empty calorie ball hog” probably didn’t help his case either. And missing 73 games in two seasons to a nagging injury can’t be dismissed.
On the other hand, didn’t Thomas deserve more than the lowest number? Doesn’t his support among the fans. both in Brooklyn and (even more so) overseas warrant a better deal from a team with a wealth of cash available and a lack of identifiable stars? As Pooch write when it first appears that a split was likely…
We watch basketball and love the game for what happens on the court. The money isn’t mine nor is it you who’s reading this (unless you’re Joe Tsai!). Like it or not, Cam Thomas has been one of the few bright spots for Nets fans. It’s undeniable even if you aren’t his biggest fan: He thrills us.
Brooklyn will live on with or without him, they’ve flaunted a good coach, draft capital, financial flexibility, and most importantly the New York City market. But the game IS about stars and Thomas is the closest to one currently dressing in black-and-white.
It’s kind of telling that the official NBA China Games poster features three Nets added this summer: 19-year-olds Egor Demin and Nolan Traore and Michael Porter Jr, whose summer has been, quite frankly, an unmitigated disaster.
Bottom line: it’s a business and not giving Cam Thomas his bag was a business as well as a basketball decision, driven by the new CBA. And what happens to Thomas. Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic/New York Times, wrote this two days ago:
Next summer could be a better option for Thomas. If he’s willing to wait and risk the monthslong anxiety pangs of a qualifying offer, he’ll have unrestricted free agency as a ballast. More teams, as of now, are set to have cap space next summer. That could make the risk worthwhile. The salary cap grew by 10 percent for the 2025-26 season and is projected to grow by seven percent next season, according to the league memo sent to teams.
But there are also trends working against restricted free agents. Players increasingly sign contract extensions rather than go to free agency, in part because the last CBA made it more lucrative to do so. More extensions, of course, means less cap space. And there is still 10 months to go until the next free agency cycle.
It is a risk for both sides, but much less so for the Nets, as Pooch and Lucas pointed out. Brooklyn is tanking. They want to develop the Flatbush 5 (and Fanbo Zeng as well as Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney.) They can decide how to use Thomas. He will want to showcase his skills, improve his chances of approving a trade at the deadline or a new contract in July. Will it be bombs away or a different CamT who plays better defense and adheres to the 0.5-second rule that helped the Thunder and Pacers get to the Finals? How will Jordi Fernandez handle all this? We will find out.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, aka HSS Training Center
The Nets this week added two-way E.J. Liddell who played last season for the Bulls, also on a two-way. He got little playing time on the big club. Liddell has played only 20 games with the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls since being drafted by New Orleans in the second round in 2022. A scorer at Ohio State and in the G League, he’s an ideal tw0-way: a young player seeking a new opportunity.
Putting aside the roster math, the signing of Liddell is yet another indication that the Nets are putting a premium on youth, as rebuilding teams do. Indeed, there’s a possibility depending on what Sean Marks & co. do the rest of the way, that the Brooklyn Nets 2025-26 roster will be the youngest ever.
Here’s where things stand, going from youngest to oldest:
- Nolan Traore, 19.
- Ben Saraf, 19
- Egor Demin, 19
- Drake Powell, 20 (today)
- Dariq Whitehead, 21
- Noah Clowney, 21
- Danny Wolf, 21
- Fanbo Zeng, 22
- Cam Thomas, 23
- Day’Ron Sharpe, 23
- Ziaire Williams, 23
- Keon Johnson, 23
- Ricky Council IV, 24
- E.J. Liddell, 24
- Jalen Wilson, 24
- Drew Timme, 24 (till tomorrow)
- Tyson Etienne, 25
- Nic Claxton, 26
- Tyrese Martin, 26
- Michael Porter Jr., 27
- Haywood Highsmith, 28
- Terance Mann, 28
So, 17 of the 22 players currently on the roster are 25 or younger. We included both Fanbo Zeng and Ricky Council IV in our survey even though they’re not signed. And, of course, the Nets will have to cut as many as three of their five players with team options.
It should also be noted that two current members of the Nets are among the youngest players in franchise history: Nolan Traore at 19.5 years old ranks fifth behind Derrick Favors, Cliff Robinson (not Uncle Cliffy but a player who played with the team in 1979-80 as a 19-year-old), Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney. Right behind him and six weeks older is Ben Saraf at No. 6.
Comings and goings
Acie Law becomes Brooklyn’s third chief scout in the past three years, but he brings something special. He has a ring with the OKC Thunder last year, having been part of the Sam Presti front office for four years during which the Thunder had great success obviously. More importantly, Law has experience in managing scouting operations for a team with a vast trove of draft picks. Indeed, Brooklyn has surpassed Oklahoma City in terms of picks going forward.
The Thunder currently have 27 picks over the next seven years: 12 firsts and 15 seconds, second most in the NBA. Brooklyn has a league-leading 32: 13 first and 15 seconds. So he has significant experience in the management of an NBA club’s scouting apparatus. Until the Nets surpassed them this year, the Thunder has long been the team with the NBA most draft assets in the NBA.
Law succeeds Drew Nicholas who spent one year in Brooklyn, arriving from Denver, then departing this summer for Boston. Two years ago, J.R. Holden was both chief scout and GM of the Long Island Nets.
Meanwhile, the Nets have lost another member of their performance team. James Moore, a physiotherapist who was Head of Performance Therapies, worked closely with a number of players on short term rehabs, including Ben Simmons. He is returning to his native Scotland where he will work with the national sports federation.
Ben Williams, who ran the performance team last season, left shortly after the season ended, returning to his native Britain where he will serve in a similar function with the Queens Park Rangers in London. His replacement will be the fourth head of the team in four years. Stefania Rizzo, head of rehabilitation, has also left the organization.
Expect a press release soon on these and other changes in the front office.
Final Note
Because they’re one of five NBA teams headed overseas in preseason, the Nets will have their Media Day on September 23, a week earlier than usual. Two days later, the team will have its first practice at HSS. The same day the Brooklyn Basketball Center will open in the old Modells. Two days after that, it will the annual Practice in the Park. It’s getting closer.
