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The Brooklyn Nets are moving quickly forward to the start of the 2022-23 NBA season. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons seem to be returning with a renewed investment in the franchise and winning together. For the most part, the starting lineup is known and will consist of Durant, Irving, Simmons, Curry, Claxton, or O’Neale. They have a deeper rotation this year with the return of Joe Harris, the addition of Markieff Morris, and re-signing Patty Mills. Questions that remain are if the team has enough at the center position to compete in the east and if there will be roles for young players like Day’Ron Sharpe or Cam Thomas.
Cam Thomas impressed again in the Las Vegas Summer League and showcased his impressive scoring ability. We found out this summer that multiple teams have expressed interest in trading for the Nets’ young point guard, and this week, Nets head coach Steve Nash spoke to the media about what he expects for Thomas this season.
Steve Nash on Cam Thomas’ Role This Season
This summer, Thomas reacting to comments Nash made about his playmaking abilities went viral after an impressive performance in a summer league game. There was more to Thomas’ reaction, but in a recent conversation with the media, Nash commented about what the team needs to see for him to get increased minutes this season.
“We’ll see how it goes after training camp. But he clearly is on a veteran team with a lot of guys who can play, have had a lot of success,” Nets coach Steve Nash admitted. “We know Cam’s talented, and just trying to continue to develop him and see if he can keep pushing and getting better at certain things that’ll help him get minutes.
“I said whether he plays or he doesn’t play, he has to stay positive, he has to keep the belief that this process is going to help him. So, as last year we saw he played stretches of the season and carried a large load at certain times during the year and then other times he doesn’t play, that’s very valid and possible this year. Whether he earns a ton of minutes or doesn’t, we still believe in Cam. He’s a very talented young basketball player that we want to develop.”
While Nash lauded the young point guards talent, he hinted that it may be hard for him to see extended minutes and insisted that he will need to keep a good attitude. While we saw Thomas react with an eye roll to Nash critique in summer league another league executive told Heavy’s Sean Deveney that there is a worry that the Nets guard is talented, but possibly overconfident.
League Executive on Cam Thomas
While many around the league have been interested in trading for Thomas, some league executives do have concerns on Thomas being possibly overconfident.
“Really good scorer. He knows he is, that is part of the problem. He does not know his role, he has not figured that out.. Volume scoring is just not what they need off the bench, a volume shooter. He showed what he can do in Summer League again, but we knew all that. Can you learn to pass? Can you make plays for others? Can you put in the work on your 3-pointer so you can be an effective scorer in today’s NBA and not just a guy who gets to the rim? There is a lot to prove there still, you just have to hope he is not overconfident,” the executive told Heavy.
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