Please welcome Cam Thomas, the wildly talented young guard for the Brooklyn Nets, to the party. He will sign a qualifying offer of $6 million for the next season. After negotiations for a long-term contract with the Nets went bust, he was left to make a tough choice. He agreed to a contract with an unusual provision – a full no-trade clause. Thomas will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. This move is smart for the individual teams and it can help pave the way for further innovation around the league.
There’s no doubt that beyond the classroom, Thomas has made an impact on the court. In fact, he’s had a remarkable nine games in his career with 40-plus points. He now sits fourth in 40-point games in Nets franchise history. Most strikingly, he lags behind household names such as Vince Carter, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. Each of them has more 40-point games than Thomas. Despite that, no one has failed to notice the ability he has expressed so far.
Last year, Thomas put up 24.0 points to go with 3.8 dimes and 3.3 boards per game across 31.2 minutes. His offensive capabilities shined through, as he quickly became the team’s focal point on offense. Opponents knew to fear his scoring threat. Thomas was double-teamed on 18% of his touches in 2024-25. This rate ranked him as one of the league’s best at drawing a double-team. He earned this distinction with a minimum of 1,000 touches. Only Zion Williamson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and eventual MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo saw higher double-team rates than Thomas.
The decision to accept the qualifying offer provides Thomas with financial security while allowing him to showcase his talents for another year. This guarantees he’ll be with the Nets all of this season with no trade threat. Next summer, he will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent. I would think there’d be a minimum of ten teams with cap space flush with interest in him.
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