Will Thomas Embrace Different Role On Improved Nets?

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As Cam Thomas made his way on Saturday to his visiting locker room stall inside Minnesota’s Target Center before the Nets faced the Western Conference contending Timberwolves, he found a package on his chair. A note inside an envelope contained a briefing on his first live action since injuring his hamstring in Indiana on November 5. It read:

“Welcome back, Cam. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to inject a spark into the team as a reserve. It’s not an easy task, since you would undoubtedly prefer a starting role. However, this is the role you were born to play. If anyone uncovers this message, the organization will disavow it.”

And then the contents of the package self-destructed, just as the T-Wolves figuratively did in the second half of Brooklyn’s stunning 123-107 victory in which Thomas led the way with 30 points in 20 minutes.

The Nets (10-19), who were teetering on the path toward a historically terrible campaign last month, have won three in a row, all against teams over .500, and are 7-3 in December. Some, including myself, wondered if the team’s improvement and Thomas’ 19-game absence weren’t just coincidental. Hence, Saturday was a test to see how the elite bucket-getter with ancillary flaws in his game could be reintegrated into the group.

Mission accomplished. The bench won this game for Brooklyn, with Thomas leading the way…without getting in the way. Playing mostly with a unit that included three rookies—Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, and Danny Wolf—Thomas allowed the ball to freely flow until attacking was the best basketball play.

Entering just after the six-minute mark, Thomas had three and-1s in the first quarter and then expanded his range to all levels. He was efficient--9-for-15 from the floor, including 3-for-8 from deep—and was credited with four assists without committing any turnovers. Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernandez made sure to highlight during his postgame press conference the numerous potential assists from Thomas that the staff internally tracks.

Thomas’ ability to get to the foul line is a skill in which the Nets have lagged even while they’ve been winning—they were 24^th in the league in free throw attempts per game in December going into Saturday. From my vantage, the key point in the game came with about four minutes remaining when Fernandez had Thomas, who was on a minutes restriction, reenter. Minnesota was flummoxing Brooklyn with its zone defense and had cut its deficit to nine points after a pair of Julius Randle free throws.

The Nets needed to staunch the bleeding and Thomas was their cut man. He got ginormous Wolves center Rudy Gobert to switch on him and proceeded to attack in isolation. Despite the vast size difference, Gobert could only foul Thomas to prevent him from scoring. Thomas made both, his eighth and ninth without a miss, and laid in another drive to the hoop two possessions later to restore order.

Perhaps Thomas believes this type of usage is only temporary until he gets his basketball conditioning back to full strength without risking any setbacks to a hamstring that has been strained several times over the last two seasons. Thomas, a supremely confident man, likely envisions major minutes that typically attach to a player with his scoring abilities.

Fernandez, though, should stick to what’s been working. The Nets’ ascension, even if it’s been a small sample, has been spurred by defense. One could argue that their early December successes were schedule induced; these last three games, on the other hand, were massive upsets in which Brooklyn held those opponents to a mere 100 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.

Thomas, unfortunately, has always been a minus factor on that end. At 6-foot 3, he’s on the smaller side, which hinders the effectiveness of Brooklyn’s switching. Replacing Terance Mann for Thomas in the starting five downgrades a defense that already has to accommodate Michael Porter Jr. and rookie Egor Demin, two other Nets who often get picked on by opponents. In 18 previous minutes before Saturday, that duo plus Thomas posted a defensive rating of 142.5., per NBA.com. Yeesh, no matter the sample size.

The better way is for Fernandez to minimize the overlapping of Porter and Thomas by staggering their minutes so that one of them is always on the floor. The difference in the Nets’ offensive ratings with Porter on versus off the off court was about 17 points per 100 possessions through the first nine games this month, per NBA.com. In other words, the Nets couldn’t buy a bucket with Porter on the bench; that problem is more likely to go away with Thomas taking the reins during those Porter respites going forward, as Minnesota just discovered.

Of course, Fernandez could always turn to Thomas in crunch time, when opposing defenses tend to tighten. It’s the classic Microwave role embodied by the likes of Vinnie Johnson, Andrew Toney, Jamal Crawford, and Lou Williams. None of those guys played much defense either, but they were highly respected.

No one should expect Thomas, 24, to like being thrown into that compartment. He’s playing on a 1-year, $6 million qualifying offer and is a pending unrestricted free agent this coming summer. Bench players do not tend to get paid within the same tier as starters.

Unfortunately for him, at least according to analysts with inside access to league executives, Thomas is not valued anywhere close to his own self-worth. He received no offers outside of Brooklyn during his restricted free agency and the trade market for him is allegedly nonexistent. He is apparently perceived as a volume scorer who does little else to abet winning. His injury history, however unlucky, is probably also used against him.

So it appears Thomas is stuck with Brooklyn for the near term. However impossible it may sound, if he accepts the new mission, it could still be relatively entertaining.