{"id":86531,"date":"2024-07-18T19:21:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T23:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=86531"},"modified":"2024-07-18T20:08:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T00:08:28","slug":"brooklyn-nets-rising-star-speaks-about-possible-extension-cam-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/18\/brooklyn-nets-rising-star-speaks-about-possible-extension-cam-thomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Nets Rising Star Not &#8220;Pushing For&#8221; Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a breakout campaign during the 2023-24 season, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/26\/whos-next-to-get-traded-by-the-brooklyn-nets\/\" target=\"_self\">Brooklyn Nets<\/a> guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thomaca02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Thomas<\/a> is primed to take on a large role for the team in the long run. Last season, the three-year veteran averaged 22.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He also started 51 games and averaged 31.4 minutes per game. All these numbers are career highs for Thomas. Additionally, he finished seventh in Most Improved Player voting for last season. Following his career year and the major trade of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bridgmi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mikal Bridges<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/28\/nba-trade-grades-bridges-gives-knicks-another-scorer-while-nets-look-to-future-what-is-next-for-the-teams\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Knicks<\/a>, Thomas is in a great spot to take it to the next level next season. And for the 22-year-old, it could not have happened at a better time.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas is eligible for a contract extension this summer. And based on his performance with the team so far, it seems like a contract extension is best for both sides. Recently, Thomas spoke about a potential contract extension. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/09\/lsu-and-houston-considered-early-leaders-for-fast-rising-consensus-top-15-2025-prospect\/\" target=\"_self\">LSU<\/a> alum admitted that although he thinks about it, he is not &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/hoopshype.com\/2024\/07\/18\/cam-thomas-on-potential-extension-you-definitely-think-about-it-but-its-not-something-im-pushing-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pushing for<\/a>&#8221; a contract extension.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;You definitely think about it, but it\u2019s not something I\u2019m pushing for. Whatever happens with the organization happens. I can\u2019t control that. The only thing I can control is going out there and playing the best basketball I can play. Whatever happens will happen. I\u2019m not really pressed on it. Whatever happens will happen. You never know what could happen. As of right now, I\u2019m not really pressed on it. I want to keep improving my game to get ready for next season.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Brooklyn Nets Rising Star Not &#8220;Pushing For&#8221; Extension<\/h2>\n<h3>Cam Thomas and the Nets Are Not Calling It a Rebuild<\/h3>\n<p>Last season, the Nets ended the year with a 32-50 record. Additionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/19\/nba-news-brooklyn-nets-fire-jacque-vaughn\/\" target=\"_self\">Brooklyn<\/a> fired head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vaughja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacque Vaughn<\/a> after 54 games and promoted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/ollieke01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Ollie<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/19\/nba-news-brooklyn-nets-hire-ncaa-champion-as-head-coach\/\" target=\"_self\">interim head coach<\/a>. The Nets finished as the No. 11 seed and missed the postseason entirely. This was the first time since the 2017-18 season the Nets did not make it to the playoffs. In the last year, the Nets have moved on from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-18_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, and Bridges. The Nets look completely different from the team that was considered heavy title favorites just a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Although many NBA fans and personalities believe the Nets are in a rebuild, Thomas disagrees. Thomas said he and the team are &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/hoopshype.com\/2024\/07\/18\/cam-thomas-were-not-going-to-treat-this-as-a-rebuild-as-people-say-were-doing\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not going to treat this as a rebuild.<\/a>&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We\u2019re not going to treat this as a rebuild as people say we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re going to go out there and compete and try to win every game. If we lose, we lose. We\u2019re not going to throw games. We\u2019re going to compete hard. It\u2019s going to be entertaining and exciting with good, young Nets basketball. I can\u2019t wait to see it.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The Last Word on Cam Thomas<\/h3>\n<p>Thomas has assumed a larger role in all three years of his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/07\/2024-nba-off-season-preview-whats-next-for-the-nets\/\" target=\"_self\">Nets<\/a> career and has lived up to expectations. After a great season last year, there is a lot to be excited about regarding Thomas&#8217; future. While he may not push for an extension right now, it is likely Brooklyn wants to lock him up soon and keep him for the long haul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a breakout campaign during the 2023-24 season, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is primed to take on a large role for the team in the long run. Last season, the three-year veteran averaged 22.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He also started 51 games and averaged 31.4 minutes per game. All [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":86535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,2,62,3],"tags":[4069,3808,444,69,38084,406,1484],"class_list":["post-86531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-featured","category-nba","category-news","tag-cam-thomas","tag-jacque-vaughn","tag-james-harden","tag-kevin-durant","tag-kevin-ollie","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-mikal-bridges"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}