The Brooklyn Nets signed restricted free agent guard Cam Thomas to a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer contract Thursday morning, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Charania reported Thomas' representation turned down two other contracts in order to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2026 offseason, when roughly 10 teams will have a generous amount of cap space.
The deals Thomas and his agents declined, according to ESPN, were a two-year, $30 million offer with a team option or a one-year contract worth $9.5 million that included incentives up to $11 million and waived the no-trade clause.
This situation and Thomas' new deal could greatly influence the financial dispute taking place between the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga. To put it simply, Thomas signed for the qualifying offer to bet on himself.
He will play the 2025-2026 campaign for the Nets, where he hopes to prove himself worthy of a lucrative contract from either Brooklyn or elsewhere next summer. The no-trade clause prevents the Nets' front office from selling high on him at February's deadline.
Kuminga could follow in the 23-year-old's footsteps, also banking on a career year to land him a sizeable deal elsewhere a year from now. It's clear this idea has already been on the NBA champion's mind, as NBC Sports' Dalton Johnson revealed it is an appealing option to him.
"The one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer remains the most attractive offer to Kuminga at the moment, sources continue to tell NBC Sports Bay Area," Dalton wrote. "The Warriors have offered a two-year contract worth roughly $45 million, but are holding strong to a team option for the second year, while Kuminga and his camp have made it clear they want a player option for Year 2."
The only issue for Kuminga in comparison to Thomas is the latter will have a much greater opportunity to thrive than the former. Thomas will have a starting role in Brooklyn, where he can take a plethora of shots, whereas Kuminga is forced to compete with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in the forward room.
The deadline to sign for the qualifying offer is less than a month away (October 1), so if Kuminga intends to bet on himself, he'll need to decide sooner rather than later.
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