Would Nets' Cam Thomas be better off taking his qualifying offer?

USA Today

21 hours ago

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas heads into August unsigned despite coming into the offseason as one of the better free-agents on the market, restricted or not. Brooklyn has taken care of business this summer by taking five players in the 2025 NBA Draft and trading for forward Michael Porter Jr., but the negotiations to re-sign Thomas have been slow and deliberate.
"Cam Thomas is in a complicated situation. The Nets still have a whole bunch of cap space, even when you account for agreed-to-but-not-signed deals for Day'Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams and Ricky Council IV," Spotrac's Keith Smith wrote when discussing Thomas' restricted free-agency. As of this writing, it seems that Thomas is unsigned because he wants more money than Brooklyn is willing to give him given the circumstances.
"But because they are the only team with cap space, Brooklyn has no reason to move on a new deal for Thomas that they don't deem a fair value," Smith continued. "Thomas has been outspoken about where he sees himself as a player. That's understandable, as tagging the scoring guard with the 'empty calories' tag is unfair. Thomas has improved as a playmaker and can score in a variety of ways that is only matched by the best scorers in the league."
Thomas, 23, is coming off his best season of his four-year NBA career as he averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land. While Thomas came into the offseason as one of the better free-agents on the market, he is restricted, meaning that the Nets had more leverage over Thomas than normal.
Additionally, only a few teams came into this summer with enough cap space to give Thomas a substantial offer sheet that would make Brooklyn think twice about keeping him or not. At this point, the Nets are the only team with cap space, meaning that they are essentially competing with themselves to sign the former LSU Tiger. To that point, Smith is one of many pundits to suggest that Thomas' best move could be to take his $5.99 million qualifying offer (QO).
"This situation is a flashing warning light for Thomas to sign the qualifying offer," Smith wrote. "That will see him paid $5.9 million for the upcoming season, which is a steal for the Nets by any measure. Following this year, Thomas will be an unrestricted free agent. And, crucially, he'll have a no-trade clause this year, as Thomas would lose his Bird Rights if traded while playing on the qualifying offer."