Cam Thomas couldn’t agree on a contract extension with the Nets, settling for a one-year qualifying offer that almost certainly signals a departure.
The confident young guard said he’d rather have control of his own future — read: unrestricted free agency — than a longer-term deal he doesn’t like. Thomas will bet on himself and play out the season, even if that means it’s his last in Brooklyn.
“I’d rather control my situation. As a player, that’s the type of control you want in your situation; so I just wanted to keep that aspect of it,” Thomas said. “I’m just here to play my game and keep doing what I was doing: keep playing, enjoying my fifth year with the team that drafted me and just enjoying the moment and being where my feet are. I’m just going to finish the year, and we’ll see what happens.”
Will that fifth year be his final one in Brooklyn?
Thomas was a restricted free agent this summer. But after the Nets reportedly offered a two-year, $30 million deal with a team option for the second year or a one-year, $9.5 million pact with incentives up to $11 million while waiving the no-trade clause, he rejected both.
In the end, Thomas signed the $5.99 million qualifying offer that includes an implicit no-trade clause. It’ll make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
“You just wanna keep that power you have as a player as much as you can, as long as you can,” Thomas said. “You wanna keep that little bit of power you have in that QO if you don’t get the long-term deal. … So it’s fair enough for this year.”
But beyond?
More often than not, a player accepting the qualifying offer signals not just the honeymoon being over but the marriage.
“He’s approached this in a very mature manner. It’s part of the business. It’s maybe the ugly part of the business,” general manager Sean Marks said. “So, he’s a Net. He knows that. He’s been very upfront and very mature.
“Both sides understand what’s at stake. But I also don’t want to jump to conclusions. Just because a common ground couldn’t be met this summer doesn’t mean he’s not a Net in the future or throughout the season.”
But the odds of Thomas staying aren’t great or even good. Spencer Hawes back in 2012 is believed to be the only player to play a full season on the qualifying offer then re-sign long term with his team.
But Thomas insisted this doesn’t define his future in Brooklyn.
“Nothing, really, just the business aspect of it. Nothing personal. I didn’t take nothing personal. I’m sure they didn’t. So, it is what it is,” Thomas shrugged. “I’m just gonna be where my feet are, enjoy the year, keep playing.”
Thomas said Tuesday on YES Network that negotiations had been frustrating and told the media the same thing about some of the narratives surrounding his game. After the Ringer’s Zach Lowe described the “consensus” that Thomas was an “empty calories ball hog,” the guard fired back a profane response on Twitter.
“It gets frustrating, whether you want to admit it or not, that people keep trying to spread these narratives and lies about you that just isn’t true without actually looking at the facts and watching our games,” Thomas said. “I’m pretty sure not many people watched the Nets last year that were actually commenting.”
Thomas averaged a team-high 24.0 points last season but was limited to just 25 games due to multiple hamstring pulls. That lack of availability contributed to a nonexistent market.
“He has a chip on his shoulder like he always has. That’s the way he plays. So, we expect nothing else than for him to go out there and compete,” Marks said. “Cam coming off an injury-plagued season last season obviously didn’t help him. He wants to come out and prove that he can be [fit], he can stay robust and healthy. And I think the work that we’ve seen so far this summer would allude to just that.”