The last time Cam Thomas spent this much time coming off the bench, Jacque Vaughn was still the Nets head coach and Mikal Bridges’ blockbuster was still six months away.
In late December and most of January during the 2023-24 campaign, Thomas shifted to the second unit, with his glaring defensive weakness negating his dynamic offensive contributions to the point where Brooklyn felt a change was needed.
Eventually, Thomas worked his way back into the starting lineup, and with the exception of two games last year, he remained there even after Vaughn was fired, Kevin Ollie took over as interim coach and Jordi Fernández was eventually hired.
Their most consistent path to points in bunches remained the focal point of the Nets lineup. But in each of his six games since returning from a 20-game absence due to a left hamstring strain, Thomas has returned to the second unit, asked to be the connecting link on the field alongside some of their youngest pieces.
At 24 years old and in his fifth NBA season, Thomas is the veteran of a group that also includes Danny Wolf (21 years old), Nolan Traore (19) and Drake Powell (20).
It’s a delicate balance for a Nets team that – on a macro level – is more concerned with drafting and development. It’s essentially a new reality for Thomas, whose future with a rebuilding organization was always murky after accepting Brooklyn’s qualifying offer before the season.
Ben Saraf (out of the last two games with knee pain and assigned to G-League Long Island on Saturday), Wolf, Traore and Powell need opportunities to score, to contribute and to end possession, just as Egor Dëmin has maximized the starters, and Fernández believes Thomas has done that job so far in Sunday’s road game against the Grizzlies.
“I’m very happy with the second group,” Fernández said after the Nets lost 121-105 to the Clippers on Friday. “They are trying to play the right way. I am happy and trying to concentrate more on it.” [Thomas] because that’s the superpower he has, and the defense needs to focus on him. And then he finds out when he scores and takes the ball, when he passes the ball.’
During his time on the bench, Thomas averaged 12.3 shots and 17.3 points per game, compared to the 18.6 and 24.4 respectively he compiled in the first seven games of the season before suffering a hamstring injury in the eighth game.
But he has still shouldered the bulk of the second-unit effort.
In Friday’s game against the Clippers, Thomas went 5-for-13 from the field and finished with 13 points.
Wolf finished with eight tries, Traore had seven, Sharpe finished with six and Powell missed both his attempts. They were outrebounded by nine by the Clippers’ reserves and fell to 2-11 this season in games played by Thomas.
Near the end of the first quarter, Thomas dribbled through the Clippers defense from the left wing, hesitated and eventually pulled up for a jumper that cut the Nets deficit to seven.
Then, around the eight-minute mark, Traore drove and threw a pass to Thomas for a three-pointer.
“I think Cam did a really good job,” Fernández said Friday, “and we put the ball in his hands. They have to put two on him. He’s making the right play. The guys are spreading the floor. They’re ready to shoot.”
It is unclear how long Thomas will remain with the second unit.
When they were missing eight starters in a blowout loss on Jan. 1, Thomas still came off the bench and didn’t seem happy. He dropped a simple “no comment” postgame when asked if it was frustrating to get bench minutes in a game like this.
As an impending unrestricted free agent in the midst of a walk year after a long-term extension with the Nets never materialized, Thomas is also essentially auditioning for his next deal — giving teams a glimpse of how his prolific scoring, spotty defense and past injuries should factor into his next contract.
For the time being, this had to be done through a changed role.
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