Cam Thomas Takes One-Year Qualifying Offer to Stay With Nets
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Brooklyn guard Cam Thomas has accepted his one-year qualifying offer, a deal worth just under $6 million that will keep the restricted free agent with the Nets for the 2025-26 season.
The 23-year-old declined multiple alternative proposals, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Brooklyn had offered a two-year contract averaging roughly $14–15 million per season with a team option for the second year, and a separate one-year offer starting at $9.5 million that could have reached $11 million through incentives. Both options would have required Thomas to waive his ability to veto a trade; the qualifying offer preserves that de facto no-trade clause.
By signing the qualifying offer, Thomas positions himself to become an unrestricted free agent next July, when league projections suggest 10 or more teams could have significant cap space. This summer, Brooklyn was the only franchise with notable spending room.
Selected 27th overall in the 2021 draft out of LSU, Thomas has increased his scoring average in each of his four NBA seasons, finishing 2024-25 with career highs of 24.0 points and 3.8 assists per game. A hamstring injury limited him to 25 appearances, and his career shooting marks of 43.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three-point range, along with below-average defense, kept his market modest in restricted free agency.
Brooklyn’s preference for short-term flexibility was evident throughout the offseason. The club re-signed Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams to contracts that are not guaranteed past 2025-26 and resisted making a longer commitment to Thomas.
If Thomas remains with the Nets all season, the team will retain his full Bird rights next summer. Should he approve a trade before February’s deadline, the acquiring club would hold only his Non-Bird rights, limiting a 2026 offer to roughly $7.2 million unless additional cap mechanisms are used.
Thomas’ decision also frees about $6 million in immediate cap room for Brooklyn, as his previous $12 million cap hold is cut in half once the contract is signed.
Heading into Labor Day, Thomas was one of four notable restricted free agents still unresolved. Josh Giddey (Bulls), Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors), and Quentin Grimes (Sixers) face an Oct. 1 deadline to decide on their own qualifying offers.
Source: Hoops Rumors
