Getty Cam Thomas #24 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts late in the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center
Late last season, when the Brooklyn Nets were battling injuries and Kyrie Irving was out due to New York City’s vaccine mandate, Brooklyn’s rookie guard Cam Thomas showed flashes for the Nets. The young guard, who played his college ball at LSU, made an important impact for the Nets. In the month of February, in increased minutes, Thomas averaged 16.5 and 3 rebounds per game while averaging nearly 27 minutes of play.
The Nets selected Thomas with the 27th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. The guard quickly showed major potential in a league-leading campaign in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 27 points per game and earning co-MVP honors.
Thomas also shined in two G League games last November, averaging an impressive 39.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4 assists. His strong impression earned him a mainstay spot on the Nets roster for the remainder of the season.
However, Thomas didn’t just make an impression on the Nets. One Eastern Conference head coach told Heavy’s Sean Deveney that his team had reached out about a potential Cam Thomas trade last season.
Cam Thomas Trade Talks
With Thomas’ playmaking ability and skill in creating his own shot, he has a lot of upside that has had him on team’s radars going back to last season. Again, one NBA coach confirmed that they called to explore a possible deal for the young guard.
“We called about him last year. I think just about everyone called about him at the trade deadline last year if you were looking for young players. He wasn’t going to play if they were gonna make a Finals run if they had everyone. So we wanted to give up a veteran and take him back. Didn’t happen.
He plays with great pace and he has a knack for scoring the ball obviously. Pure scorer. But they were not moving him last year, they made that pretty clear. Now, it would be even tougher to get him away from them because they don’t know what is next with KD and (Kyrie) Irving. He could be a guy who gets a lot of minutes with them next year, they’re not looking to give him away. They don’t want to rebuild, they are not trying to do a fire sale there. They want to stay in the mix in the East. He can help them with that.” the Eastern Conference coach told Deveney.
Strong Summer League Increases Thomas Interest
Thomas continued his Las Vegas Summer League domination in his 2022 debut in a 31-point debut to this year’s campaign. It wasn’t long after his strong debut that Brian Lewis of The New York Post that Brian Lewis reported that teams have called about dealing for Thomas.
“Sources told The Post that the Nets have received interest from multiple teams regarding the 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard, with league personnel saying he likely could bring back a first-round pick. The Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Pelicans reportedly made concrete offers, according to LegionHoops,” Lewis wrote.
In an offseason with so much trade uncertainty, Thomas adds to the list of players linked in trade talks. With his strong play, it may not be a deal the Nets should do, especially on the brink of a potential rebuild.