The Brooklyn Nets’ season has been full of surprises so far. From surprising success relative to expectations to positive developments from unlikely players, the Nets have been far from the talentless bottom feeders many predicted.
On Tuesday, the surprises continued in the form of a report that one of their most prominent young players may be on the trade block.
The Nets may be open to trading Cam Thomas
In his league-wide round-up column, the Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote at length about the Nets being open for business as the trade deadline approaches. Amick suggests as many believed going into the season, that the Nets will be open for business, and one of the contending teams’ first calls as the frontrunners look to shore up rosters with reliable veterans.
The surprising part comes in his second paragraph about the Nets where Amick writes:
Fourth-year gunner Cam Thomas (24.6 points per game) failed to come to terms on an extension and is widely considered to be available, but Brooklyn’s list of possibilities hardly ends there.
Interestingly, the phrase “widely considered to be available,” indicates the sentiment is that rival executives around the league believe the Brooklyn star will be available when the deadline comes around as Brooklyn looks to further rebuild its roster.
The case for trading Cam Thomas
While the young guard has shown some development and silenced some of his strongest critics with his play this year there’s still some question as to whether or not he can be the lead guy on a contending team. If Brooklyn truly doesn’t believe in the LSU product it might be best to capitalize on his value now.
Thomas’s tenure in Brooklyn has been a bit of a roller coaster. The Nets lucked out when he fell to the 27th pick in the 2021 draft. Coming into a star-studded team led by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, Thomas found himself buried on the bench behind the veteran stars.
Upon the implosion of the Big Three, Thomas saw an inconsistent role as the team tried to build around the current New York Knick Mikal Bridges. After Steve Nash’s dismissal as Brooklyn’s head coach, his replacement Jacque Vaughn consistently changed Thomas’s role, yo-yoing him from the starting lineup to the bench and back.
While it’s easy to say that the Nets, who failed to reach an agreement on a rookie extension with Thomas before the October deadline, have never truly committed to the young scorer, it’s important to note that he’s played for 4 different head coaches in his short tenure.
Thomas mysteriously sitting out Tuesday night’s game with a back strain on the same day as Amick’s report has led some to speculate that there’s some smoke behind the suggestion.
Will the Nets actually pull the trigger on a Thomas trade?
As mentioned above, the lack of an extension, the lack of commitment to providing Thomas a consistent role throughout his tenure, and questions about his overall ability to lead a contending team are all causes for speculation.
With all that said, head coach Jordi Fernandez and general manager Sean Marks seem to be in lock-step with the idea of prioritizing culture over tanking. Fernandez isn’t responsible for the fact that Thomas was rightfully stuck behind established stars early in his career, nor does he necessarily view Thomas the same way his predecessors did.
The lack of an extension also doesn’t mean that Thomas is necessarily being shopped. For instance, last season big man Nic Claxton was the subject of many trade rumors dating all the way back to training camp. Like Thomas, he failed to come to terms with the team on an extension, and like Thomas, he also dealt with an inconsistent role early in his career.
Claxton ultimately re-signed with the Nets on a 4-year $100 million dollar deal in free agency. The same could hold true for Thomas who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.
More than likely, this is more of a situation of the Nets being willing to listen to offers, not just on Thomas but on everyone, rather than an indication of him being actively shopped. With no clear building blocks, the Nets will probably move anyone for the right price, but there’s a big distinction between a promising young player like Thomas and some of the veteran role players.
Moreover, this is probably an extension of gauging Thomas’s value, as his true ceiling seems to vary wildly depending on the source of the opinion.
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The Nets standing pat with Thomas is the most likely outcome
Brooklyn will have between $44 million and $65 million in cap space barring future moves next offseason, meaning they’ll have to spend to get up to the salary floor. Additionally, their 16 first-round picks between 2025-2031 mean they’re nowhere near hurting for draft capital.
The question about Thomas’s true value on the open market is valid. The trade deadline will be the first test, and if some team is willing to give them a Mikal Bridges-level overpay they’d be foolish not to take it. Should that not come to fruition the most likely outcome is Brooklyn letting restricted free agency determine Thomas’s market and matching any offer sheet.
This strategy essentially kicks the can on an ultimate decision on Thomas’s viability on a rebuilt Nets contender down the road and gives them a piece to build around while they hope to rebuild organically yet on an accelerated timeline.
In short, the logic behind trading Thomas has some prudence, but it seems to be mostly smoke without the necessary fire.
