Restricted free agent Cam Thomas is deciding between whether to take the Brooklyn Nets’ one year, ~$6 million qualifying offer or a two-year, $28 million deal. This is according to the latest from NBA insider Jake Fischer for Bleacher Report.
By taking the qualifying offer, Thomas would be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. The caveat with the two-year deal, though, is the second year is expected to be a team option. In effect, Thomas has just one year of security in both offers.
Restricted free agency has been a reality check for players this offseason. Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga and Quentin Grimes are the other players stuck between a rock and a hard place in evaluating their options.
We are just over a month away from the start of training camp. These teams and players will want clarity sooner than later.
The deadline for restricted free agency is Oct. 1.
Nets Doing Irreparable Damage Or Thomas Knows It’s Just Business?
The degree to which teams are playing hard ball with restricted free agents comes down to one very simple reason. The second apron has enforced a strict level of fiscal responsibility upon all teams.
Do these players and their agents understand this is the new nature of the business? Or, are they reluctantly accepting this reality while thinking they’re out the door the first chance they get?
Whichever way they feel, what has transpired here is very much the inverse of what we saw with the cap spike in 2016. The NBA’s “middle class,” so to speak, thrived in that free agency period, inking deals that get viewed as some of the worst contracts now.
No team is going to risk making that kind of mistake today. The Nets, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers know these players have nowhere else to go.
They also know opposing teams will be just as cognizant of their finances when pursuing these players in the future. Only the true max players are safe.
