One more restricted free agent is finally off the market. ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that Cam Thomas is signing the one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to stay with the Nets.
A salary of $6 million is clearly low following the season Thomas just had. He may not be the most well-rounded two-way guard, but he’s an impactful player who can deliver on fairly high usage. He put up 24.0 points per game with a very solid 57.5 true shooting percentage last season, while also launching 7.8 threes a game (made at a 34.9 percent clip). Doing that on a team without much offensive help while facing a lot of attention from opposing defenses? Thomas had a pretty good career year.
As Charania explained in a full story on Thomas’s deal, some larger offers were on the table. Various contract possibilities were discussed, but in the end Thomas declined the following offers:
It’s a bit surprising Thomas had an option to potentially make $5 million more next season and turned it down. With his qualifying offer, though, he gets that no-trade clause, so he guarantees that he stays put in Brooklyn where he can keep raising his value as the team’s top option, and only has to stay for one year before testing free agency again in 2026 to pursue a bigger pay day. Out of all the restricted free agents left, this probably made more sense for Thomas than anyone else.
Now, there are just three restricted free agents remaining: Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, and the Sixers’ own Quentin Grimes.
The reported potential offers coming Grimes’ way have varied over the course of the offseason, but figures have often ranged as high as $15 million to $20 million per year. With that in mind, it would still be far more surprising to see Grimes accept a deal as low as the qualifying offer — which for him would be a one-year, $8.7 million contract. And with the Sixers ideally being healthier next season, and having more guard competition around when Jared McCain returns and new rookie VJ Edgecombe, Grimes isn’t always going to get the kind of touches he had to close last season on such a tear. That doesn’t bode as well for him raising his value if he wants to find a bigger contract elsewhere. Cashing in with more than the qualifying offer obviously makes sense.
For now, though, the wait continues to see how much Grimes actually lands in his inevitable return to Philadelphia.