How similar is Nets' Cam Thomas to Bernard King for career impact?
"Bernard King is a real comp here, I think... like all of these guys, this is like basically the list of guys who did not win a title playing this style of basketball," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie said on an episode of the "Game Theory Podcast." One of the topics that have been discussed over the past couple of years is how valuable Thomas' style of play is to winning in the NBA today.
"As he (Thomas) currently plays basketball, this has not really been a winning player archetype throughout the annals of NBA history," Vecenie continued before explaining that the analysis is more about Thomas' archetype than it is about how good of a player he is. "I'm higher on Cam Thomas' scoring ability than probably what most people are. I think that dude is born to score the basketball and is this incredible, unbelievable scoring basketball player."
Thomas is coming off the best season of his career after averaging 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 looked like the best version of himself following the 2024-25 season, he played in just 25 games, the fewest appearances that he's made in a season since being the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Time will tell if Thomas can have a career similar to King, who averaged 22.5 points per game for his career, but the main issue for Thomas and the Nets at the moment is agreeing to a contract. Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Thomas is looking for a significant pay raise based on some of the guards that are currently making at least $30 million per year.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: How similar is Nets' Cam Thomas to Bernard King for career impact?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Luke Keaschall drives in three runs as Twins beat Tigers 9-4
DETROIT (AP) — Luke Keaschall drove in three runs for the second straight game and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Wednesday. Keaschell is hitting .393 in his nine-game major league career, which was interrupted in April by a broken arm. He returned on Tuesday and has four hits and six RBIs in his first two games back. Thomas Hatch (1-0) picked up the win with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. He was claimed off waivers on Monday from the Kansas City Royals. Jack Flaherty (6-11) took the loss, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first. Alan Roden and Matt Wallner started the game with singles, and Keaschall drove them in with a two-out double. Keaschall had three RBIs in Tuesday's 6-3 win, including his first career homer. Minnesota made it 3-0 in the second when Brooks Lee scored on a wild pitch, but Spencer Torkelson's 24th homer narrowed the game to two runs in the bottom of the inning. Zach McKinstry pulled the Tigers within one with a leadoff homer in the third and Kerry Carpenter's two-run shot put Detroit ahead 4-3 later in the inning. Lee homered in the fourth and the Twins took a 6-4 lead on RBI doubles by Ryan Jeffers and Keaschall in the fifth. Austin Martin and Roden homered off Tyler Holton in the sixth. Key moment The Tigers had runners on first and third with one out in the eighth and their 3-4-5 hitters due up. A.J. Hinch sent Jahmai Jones in to hit for Carpenter and Kody Funderburke got him to ground into an inning-ending double play. Key stat Keaschall has reached base in his first nine career games, the second-longest streak in Twins history. Glenn Williams reached in his first 13 games in 2005. Up next Each team is off on Thursday before starting weekend home series on Friday. Twins ace RHP Joe Ryan (10-5, 2.83) is scheduled to start against the Kansas City Royals, while Tigers All-Star LHP Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.18) will face the Los Angeles Angels. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'I've always played for me.' Venus Williams returns to Cincinnati Open on her own terms
MASON, OH − Venus Williams has always lived an unapologetic life, controlling what she can control while passionately committing herself to the sport she loves. That's why it's odd that her illustrious career began with something she had no control of whatsoever. On Halloween Night in 1994, Williams made her professional debut at just 14 years at the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California. The toughest part might have been keeping her composure while the Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge World Tour roared next door at the Oakland Coliseum. More: Here are the best first-round ATP matches to watch in the Cincinnati Open Right around "Beast of Burden," or maybe, "Sympathy for the Devil," Williams finished a straight-set victory over Shaun Stafford. "Mick Jagger, this is my message to you: I was playing my first professional match next to you," Williams laughed. "It was a beautiful thing and a great start." Now, the end is near, but Williams won't put a timetable on when she'll hang it up for good. The 45-year-old, who was awarded a wild card to the Cincinnati Open, made another comeback in July following a 16-month absence. Last summer, she underwent surgery for uterine fibroids, which affects up to 80% of women by age 50, according to NYU Langone Health. "This is a super important issue because so many people go through this," Williams said. More: 5 food dishes to try at the Cincinnati Open, from a lobster roll to a wagyu burger Williams never stopped hitting the ball, even when she could hardly walk. Even if it was for a few minutes, at whatever intensity she could manage. "Now, a year later, I'm in a completely different space and I have a clean bill of health, thank God. I'm ready to play and compete.' Despite a three-decade career, Williams still felt time was on her side. Time to recover from surgery, time to ramp up her serve, time to hit the ball with a ferocity worthy enough for the WTA tour. In July, Williams became the oldest player to win a WTA tour event in 21 years when she knocked out Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns in the first round of the DC Open. "Love is the key, right? If you don't love it, then get out of it if you have that luxury," Williams said. "I think a lot of motivation for me is to try to come back and play in the best health that I can. You have to live your life on your own terms. It doesn't matter what anyone else says or thinks, if you get to live life on your own terms, it's a life well-lived." Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion who made a run to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals in 2019 and semifinals in 2012, knows the questions about her age are coming every time she steps on the court. But her message remains to control what she can control. She can't control her age, or that she needed surgery, but her preparation and mindset take top priority when it involves returning to tennis. "You're never too young or too old to lose. Losing knows no age," Williams said. "All that matters for me is that I'm prepared and ready. I really have to stay focused on me, play it one point at a time and try to win for myself. I've always played for me." Will this be Williams' final Cincinnati appearance? She might live on her own terms, but Williams doesn't ruminate too far down the road. Right now, she's thankful for a clean bill of health and a first-round matchup against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Aug. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. "I'm very much in the moment," she said. "I don't think you should ever rule me out. That's all I will say." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Venus Williams returns to Cincinnati Open
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
For some MLB teams, lack of activity at the trade deadline was a bet on their strengths — and a big risk
If there was one thing that separated this year's trade deadline from those in recent years, it was the distinction between the contenders who were clearly going for it and those who seemed just happy to be there, making small, ancillary moves that didn't really change their outlooks. Of course, not every team is going to swing for the fences in trades (pun intended), but when trying to win a World Series, often there needs to be a move that increases a team's chances of winning. Among the teams that went big, the San Diego Padres stand out. They acquired the most impact at the deadline, trading for first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, starter J.P. Sears and closer Mason Miller. Like many teams at the deadline, the New York Mets decided to make their bullpen a priority. They also aimed high, trading for left-hander Gregory Soto and right-handers Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley. And then there were the Philadelphia Phillies, who didn't need as much at the deadline, given a rock-solid rotation and a lineup hitting its stride. But for years, a lockdown closer for the ninth inning always felt like the area the Phillies lacked in their efforts to win the World Series. Last week, they addressed that need in a big way, adding All-Star closer Jhoan Duran to anchor the back end of their bullpen and strengthen their case as legitimate World Series contenders. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] While those teams moved aggressively to increase their World Series chances, other teams that went into the deadline as World Series contenders stayed rather quiet, opting to bet on their existing strengths rather than paying steep trade prices. The Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers were arguably the two best teams in the first half of this season. But both have clear weaknesses. For the Cubs, it has always been starting pitching, with no apparent in-house arm ready to start a postseason game behind Shota Imanaga and Mattew Boyd. The Cubs' deadline left a lot to be desired, with their pitching additions limited to reliever Andrew Kittredge, reliever Taylor Rogers and starter Mike Soroka, who is already on the IL after pitching just two innings in his first outing with Chicago, leaving the Cubs exactly where they were before the deadline. Meanwhile, Detroit needed a right-handed bat and more starting pitching. The Tigers added right-hander Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins to their rotation, but they did not acquire a bat. And Detroit and Chicago weren't the only teams in postseason position that didn't make significant changes at the deadline. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers were also quiet. The only moves those teams made was the Brewers adding fourth outfielder Brandon Lockridge and backup catcher Danny Jansen, while the Dodgers acquired outfielder Alex Call and sent right-hander Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox. For all four of these teams, the lack of deadline moves can be taken as a sign that their front offices are betting on themselves and the teams they already have. One could argue that these teams already had what they need to contend down the stretch. But one could also argue that once the dust of the trade deadline settled, with other teams getting better, these squads got worse by comparison. In Detroit, the Tigers are betting that their pitching, led by AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, can continue to carry the team. Detroit has leaned heavily on its starting pitching over the past two years, but at this point, for the Tigers to finish as the top team in the American League, their offense is going to have to come through in a big way. The Dodgers are going all-in on their roster getting healthy, which is hard to fault given that when they're healthy, they're as loaded as any team in baseball. But of course, in recent years, the Dodgers have never been fully healthy, so the idea that they'll somehow get there this season seems like a bit of a stretch. In the case of the Cubs, they're betting on the offense that has carried them to this point and certain players, such as Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad, getting healthy down the stretch. That seems like a risky bet, especially with the Cubs already regretting their inactivity at the trade deadline. It's not just that their only starting-pitching acquisition immediately got injured; that simply wasn't the type of move that says a team is trying to win the World Series. Yes, starting pitching is always expensive, and at this year's deadline, it might've been even more expensive than usual. But for a team that needed not just a postseason-caliber starter but also additional depth, the addition of one back-end starter wasn't going to cut it. Not to mention, Chicago is 6-9 in its past 15 games, now four games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, and its high-powered offense has gone ice-cold since the All-Star break. The Brewers are the one team from this quartet that deserves the benefit of the doubt. Milwaukee has looked almost unbeatable for the better part of the past two months, but what's more, they addressed some of their needs prior to the flurry of deadline activity. Quinn Priester, acquired in an April trade with Boston, has been a huge addition to their rotation, and Andrew Vaughn, acquired from the White Sox in June, has been one of the best hitters in MLB over the past three weeks. If this season has shown us anything, it's that the league is wide-open, and there are probably six to eight teams with a legitimate chance to win the World Series. When some teams stand pat while others act aggressively to get better, the outlook of the league and the postseason picture can change rather quickly. In a year like that, it's imperative for the teams in contention to bolster their rosters and give themselves the best odds to win it all. Not doing so feels like a waste of a golden opportunity.
