The 6-foot-4 bucket-getter is one of several restricted free agents currently in a holding pattern<\/a>, the others being Quentin Grimes<\/a> (Philadelphia 76ers), Josh Giddey<\/a> (Chicago Bulls) and Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> (Golden State Warriors). Like Grimes and Giddey, Thomas was pretty productive last season, averaging career-highs of 24.0 points and 3.8 assists per game. Yet, like Kuminga, he didn’t exactly capitalize on the opportunity he got from his play in 2023-24.<\/p>\n That being said, while Kuminga’s problem was a poor fit within the team framework<\/a>, Thomas’s hurdle was his health. To that point, the 23-year-old played just 25 games in 2024-25. On the one hand, he’s a microwave scorer and passionate about improvement. On the other hand, he’s an injury-prone offensive-minded guard with flawed shot-selection, efficiency, playmaking and defense.<\/p>\n The Nets are likely better with Thomas given their overall talent deficiency. Still, they’re just 27-52 when he scores 20+ points. As a result, determining his value and how long he’ll remain in Brooklyn is difficult.<\/p>\n This summer, the Nets were rumored to want to consolidate their first-round picks to move up in the 2025 NBA Draft. If true, that plan didn’t work out for Brooklyn, who instead kept all five of their first-rounders<\/a> for themselves. With that in mind, there isn’t necessarily a problem with any of the players they took, in a vacuum. However, the positional overlap left many scratching their heads.<\/p>\n With their first two first-round picks, the Nets added point guards Egor Demin<\/a> (No. 8 overall) and Nolan Traore<\/a> (No. 19 overall).\u00a0 With their next two first-round picks, they picked up wings Drake Powell<\/a> (No. 22 overall) and Ben Saraf<\/a> (No. 26 overall). They then drafted center Danny Wolf<\/a> with the 27th overall pick.<\/p>\n As Brooklyn didn’t have a starting point guard at the time, their selection of two elite facilitators in Demin and Traore made sense. The head-scratchers were Powell and Saraf. There’s no guarantee that either will be better than Keon Johnson<\/a>, Tyrese Martin<\/a> or Dariq Whitehead<\/a>, let alone Terance Mann<\/a>. With Nic Claxton<\/a> and Day’Ron Sharpe<\/a> expected to both be in the rotation, Wolf wasn’t really an ideal pick either.<\/p>\n All that being said, the Nets in rebuild mode. Who’s to say that they aren’t just waiting for the cream to rise to the top?<\/p>\n Ever since they traded Kevin Durant<\/a>, Brooklyn’s been looking for a lanky sharpshooting forward to feature as a scorer.<\/p>\n In 2022-23, it was Mikal Bridges<\/a>, who averaged 26.1 points per game. However, Bridges was unable to sustain that level of excellency, averaging 19.6 points per game the following season. Then in 2024-25, Cam Johnson<\/a> averaged a career-high 18.8 points per game. Though Johnson was unable to score at an All-Star level, he became the team’s No. 1 option following the trade deadline.<\/p>\n![\"Jan](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25130446_168415934_lowres-300x200.jpg\")
Which Rookies Will Separate Themselves?<\/h3>\n
Can Michael Porter Jr. Thrive As The Top Option?<\/h3>\n