The Brooklyn Nets could have a franchise cornerstone in their hands as they enter the 2024-25 NBA season. Since joining the Nets in 2021, Cam Thomas has shown great promise. He has improved his scoring every year and remains one of the biggest offensive threats in the league. However, Brooklyn is approaching a crucial contract extension period with Thomas.
Thomas will begin the final year of his rookie contract during the 2024-25 season, and Brooklyn has the option to give him an extension before the year starts. The Nets do not want to make the mistake of overpaying Thomas with the changes in the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement. After all, Thomas has shown great glimpses of stardom, but Brooklyn needs to see more before paying him like a superstar.
Nevertheless, Sean Marks signaled urgency in getting a deal done with Thomas while the window is open:
"It's important to always have that door open. The window will certainly close on the extension if we can't get something done... It's important for those players to know we care about them and know where we see them and whether the timing is right this year or if it's next offseason," Marks said in a Sep. 26 press conference, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.
The Nets will have a three-week window to negotiate their rookie-scale extensions starting Oct. 1, Slater noted.
The Nets will not let Cam Thomas slip through their hands
If Brooklyn fails to extend Thomas before the start of the season, he will enter restricted free agency during the 2025 offseason. This is not the worst thing for the Nets, as they can match any offer other teams give him. However, letting Thomas hit the market could be more costly for Brooklyn. They do not want another team throwing Thomas a maximum contract.
Moreover, one NBA insider gave a shocking revelation on Thomas' perceived value among executives in late September. Zach Lowe said there are NBA front office members who would not even extend Thomas "for the minimum." Lowe does not share the same sentiment, pointing out the array of shots Thomas can make and his growing passing game.
The Nets will likely not give Thomas a minimum extension. At the same time, they probably will not go too high on him at the moment. Thomas has begun to bloom in Brooklyn, and surely, he and the Nets will agree to something that keeps in him the borough longer.