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Cam Thomas to Zach Lowe: ‘F*** you’ on ‘empty calories ball hog’ comment

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Brooklyn Nets v Chicago Bulls
Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Negotiations take back seat to CamT’s response to NBA writer…

Cam Thomas is in the middle of contract negotiations with the Brooklyn Nets on his next contract, which are at this point going nowhere according to both Jake Fischer and Brian Lewis. The two sides have not had “significant” talks, Fischer reported on The Steinline and Lewis, writing for the Post, quoted a league official as saying the team is in “no hurry” on free agent negotiations.

And so when Zach Lowe on Wednesday discussed Thomas’ free agency, it got the Nets shooting guard’s attention. On his The Dunker Spot podcast last week, the Ringer reporter had said: “The consensus on Cam Thomas — if there is one, and he’s got some fans, and he’s got some mega-detractors — but the consensus is kind of like Empty Calories Ball Hog.”

Thomas was decidedly not pleased…

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And that wasn’t the only newsy tweet from the 23-year-old. He took what may or may not be a subtle swipe at Sean Marks, the Nets GM, and his teammates…

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Thomas averaged 3.8 assists in 31.4 minutes last season, a respectable number for shooting guard.

Thomas’s tweets, his first in free agency, were responding to Sharif Phillips-Keaton of USA Today who had defended Thomas’ game, offering some statistics…

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To suggest Cam Thomas’ game (and personality) is polarizing is nothing new, but Thomas is in talks about his NBA career and so he’s bound to be sensitive. Moreover, in the past several days, there have been various takes on his worth, not one of them particularly positive. Fischer, who previously reported that Thomas wants a deal that values him at $30 million a year, wrote this Thursday:

Sources say that the Nets, in fact, have yet to even significantly engage their own restricted free agent: Scoring guard Cam Thomas.

On Friday, Brian Lewis confirmed Fischer’s report in a conversation with a source close to Thomas.

Thomas has openly said he views himself as one of the best shooting guards in the league.

A source familiar with Thomas’ thinking said he does not consider himself inferior to Immanuel Quickley ($32.5 million this upcoming season), Tyler Herro ($31 million) or RJ Barrett ($27.7 million).

“No way,” the source said. “So he could want $30 million, too,”

At the other end of the spectrum, a league source told NetsDaily last week that giving the 23-year-old more than $10 million would turn their “entire off-season goes from being amazing to shitty.”

And in an interview with Connor Long on the Brooklyn Boys podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon suggested that the Nets might be playing hardball with Thomas. “I would say Cam Thomas wants to be paid and apparently the Nets aren’t eager to pay him.”

MacMahon told Long that Thomas remains “pretty polarizing around the league,” so the market for him might be limited, the same point that Jake Fischer made last week. “We know he can score, get bucks, but can he contribute to winning?”

Indeed, in an SB Nation NBA Reacts poll, out Friday, most Nets fans think Thomas is not worth much more than $20 million


Moreover, Thomas has had injury issues, missing 73 games over the past two seasons, mostly due to hamstring issues.

Thomas is one of four restricted free agents who are stuck in a bad place this summer. Other that their current teams — Thomas with the Nets, Josh Giddey with the Bulls, Jonathan Kuminga with the Warriors, Quentin Grimes with the 76ers — there doesn’t appear to be a market for any of them. One big reason is the the NBA’s new CBA with its draconian limits for those teams over the first or second apron and the reality that only one team has cap space, the Nets.

In theory, Thomas could seek a sign-and-trade to another if he is ultimately unhappy with a Nets offer and another team is willing to meet his demands, but that can get tricky for the receiving team which under most circumstances would become hard-capped.

And the two sides have plenty of time to work things out. He can exercise his qualifying offer and play next year at $6 million and become an unrestricted free agent.

Attempts to gain a comment from the Nets on Thomas’s tweets failed. Lowe has not reacted.