Cam Thomas Returns to the Nets with a Million-Dollar Deal
The talented player Cam Thomas has signed a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to continue his career with the Brooklyn Nets. The official announcement by the Nets was made on Thursday, confirming the player’s renewal without revealing the specific terms of the agreement. Negotiations for a long-term contract between Brooklyn and Thomas did not materialize, so the 23-year-old guard, known for his scoring ability, opted for the qualifying offer. This decision grants him a full no-trade clause and will leave him as an unrestricted free agent next summer, at which point at least ten teams are expected to have available salary cap space. Thomas becomes the first restricted free agent in the NBA to make a definitive decision, surpassing other players like Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, and Quentin Grimes. Furthermore, he is the fifth first-round pick to sign a qualifying offer since 2017. Thomas’ representatives, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis from Octagon, explored various agreement structures with the Nets. However, they rejected Brooklyn’s proposals, which included a two-year, $30 million contract with a team option in the second season, and another offer of one year and $9.5 million with incentives that could reach $11 million, but without a no-trade clause. In the free agent market, the Nets were one of the few teams with significant cap space, which generated some uncertainty. Over the last month, the Nets have been the only team with a real margin under the salary cap. Last season, Thomas averaged 24.0 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per game. However, hamstring injuries limited his participation to only 25 games, being the first time he was absent for a prolonged period.Despite demonstrating his ability to score and generate play, Thomas was double-teamed in 18% of his possessions in the 2024-25 season, according to data from GeniusIQ. This figure positions him as the fourth player with the highest frequency of double-teaming among those with at least 1,000 possessions, only behind Zion Williamson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In the last two seasons, Thomas has averaged 22.9 points in 31.4 minutes per game, a notable increase compared to his first two seasons in the NBA, where he averaged 9.5 points and 17.1 minutes. Throughout his career, Thomas has recorded nine 40-point games or more, ranking fourth in Nets history, surpassed only by Vince Carter, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant.
