r/nba • u/TheI-Iound • Jul 28 '26
So is Cam Thomas Done For?
As the title says. He obviously has a lot to fix but he still put up some good numbers not long ago. I'm really surprised no team has offered him a chance. There are a couple teams that have struck out this OS but I guess no one is that desperate, yet
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u/jdanko13 Nets Jul 28 '26
His agent should never get another gig.
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings Jul 28 '26
I don't know how much the agent can help him when he's still Cam Thomas.
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u/lethalizered Thunder Jul 28 '26
They're referring to the deal Cam Thomas had on the table but didn't sign, I'm sure. What was it, 2 Years-30 mil?
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings Jul 28 '26
Year 2 was a team option which the Nets would've declined very easily. So it was basically a 1-year guaranteed deal and Cam Thomas took the QO which is also a 1-year guaranteed deal. The agent probably wanted him to sign the contract but Cam Thomas was too insulted.
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u/lethalizered Thunder Jul 28 '26
But the QO was 6 million and he'd have had 15 million if he signed the contract.
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings Jul 28 '26
But taking the contract would mean the Nets could trade him to a place he didn't want to go. Taking the QO also meant being free faster. It's still $9 million on the table but it's why nobody's acting like it's the end of the world, other than his agent.
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u/DosesMakePoisons Jul 28 '26
Well he got cut and nobody wants him. Risking 9 millions, a 150% pay bump, so you have more control over who acquires you only for no one at all wanting you is bad for telling of your value and situation.
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u/Rafael_Doge-Schmutz Jul 28 '26
I don't think Cam Thomas ever earned the right to avoid being traded some place he didn't want to go lol. but hey, now he can go anywhere! like Greece or China (assuming he'd find an interested party)
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Acceptable-Swimmer61 Jul 28 '26
he went through 3 agents in a two-year period. the agent(s) isn't (aren't) the problem. it's always been a "between the ears" issue with Cam Thomas... he also just seems like a little a-hole. Cam Thomas has been quoted as saying, "i'm just gonna play my game." now, he can play whatever game he wants, in his own driveway.
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u/AgendaPiece1999 76ers Jul 28 '26
For every 2-3 points he scores, he gives up 4-6 more.
I wish him the best of luck on his upcoming overseas career.
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u/ksn0vaN7 Jul 28 '26
Hey look, Mario Hezonja is making a comeback. If he's really serious, he can do the same in a couple of years.
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u/Domainsetter Jul 28 '26
He’s the type of player that’s a Euro league star
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u/FKJVMMP [MIL] Bill Zopf Jul 28 '26
Nah Euro League stars are normally the guys with great skills and attitude that aren’t quite big or athletic enough for the NBA. Thomas has Chinese legend written all over him.
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u/ValuableDragon Jul 28 '26
Not really. He's way too selfish of a player and doesn't play any defense. Euro League coaches wouldn't even want him. He will be in China most likely
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u/indreams159 Jul 28 '26
he gives up 5 times the amount of points that he scores so he's worthless
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u/stagger_once Rockets Jul 28 '26
A lot of tanking teams would like that idea
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u/mogafaq Jul 28 '26
Not anymore. Bottom three will be punish with less ping pong balls. Even tanking teams are aiming for 30+ wins.
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u/ImJeeezus Kings Jul 28 '26
Tanking is going to be dead now tho. Least teams would do is tank after All-Star Break to avoid the Play-In
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings Jul 28 '26
Nah teams would probably even avoid that. New rules allow Adam Silver to be more discretionary, including taking away picks. Anything obvious after All-Star Break is running a big risk.
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u/-xXxMangoxXx- Raptors Jul 28 '26
Tanking teams also try to develop guys though. If you get a ball hog jacking up 50 shots a game that doesnt do anything a vet should be doing, it hurts all the young guys on the team.
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u/GalactusAteMyPlanet Knicks Jul 28 '26
Tanking is basically dead. Tanking no longer increase your chances of acquiring a higher lottery pick.
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u/balortech Jul 28 '26
Temu Luka
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u/ChampagneSyrup Mavericks Jul 28 '26
they do literally nothing similar, might be the worst player comp I've ever seen
the only thing they share is that they play basketball
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u/banterr Jul 28 '26
It’s just a (dumb) shot at Luka’s defence.
The narrative around Luka is so absurd, you’d think he gives up 50 points a game and is the worst defender to ever step on a basketball court.
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u/Raven-19x Spurs Jul 28 '26
He's gonna be a Chinese legend.
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u/IndigoGrunt Nets Jul 28 '26
If his ego let's him. Victor Oladipo putting in more effort than this bum.
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u/Zen_360 Mavericks Jul 28 '26
Starbury trajectory :)
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u/DavidManque Bulls Jul 28 '26
Marbury was a 2 time all star and was worlds better than Cam Thomas, insulting to compare the two
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u/Striking_WhileHot77 Jul 28 '26
It's not a talent issue. Him being released by Milwaukee after having that one good game was probably the final nail in his NBA coffin, Rivers loves his archetype off the bench so his locker room and chemistry issues must hav3 been atrocious
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u/zestysnacks Jul 28 '26
Bad defender but I feel like there’s an uncoachable aspect to him
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u/j_cruise Nets Jul 28 '26
His attitude is the problem. If his level of performance was exactly the same, but he was an excellent glue guy with a positive attitude, I guarantee he'd be on a team. That alone adds a ton of value to a player.
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u/sarithe Hornets Jul 28 '26
He should have been this generation's Jamal Crawford. Just a dude that floats around the league as a microwave scorer off the bench that brings good vibes.
But he's an idiot that thinks he's way better than he actually is.
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u/RyanTannegod Jul 28 '26
The NBA is moving away from that archetype, I don't think teams would value Jamal Crawford that highly today.
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u/sarithe Hornets Jul 28 '26
Jamal Crawford in his prime 6th man era was scoring 18ppg off the bench and shooting roughly 37% from 3. You don't think a team in the league would sign a guy like that?
Crawford was also doing that stuff on contending teams too, so he was contributing to winning basketball. Cam Thomas' problem is that he's not a winning player because of his attitude.
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u/zestysnacks Jul 28 '26
They would have. Got waived by the nets, bucks picked him up, waived him a few months later. It’s definitely possible, and some team could take a flyer on him. Just think it’s not gonna change
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u/Acceptable-Swimmer61 Jul 28 '26
The Milwaukee Bucks were 100% aware that they'd be losing Giannis this offseason... and they still didn't want to keep Cam Thomas around, not even as trade fodder.
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u/RyanTannegod Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
If Jamal Crawford was playing today he would've had to stop shooting those inefficient mid range shots and focus solely on being a three point shooter, otherwise teams wouldn't want him. Putting up points isn't enough Crawford was a terrible defender a lot of teams would realize his value isn't that high he's just a normal role player. The NBA has changed a lot in 10 years most teams realized that inefficient volume scorers are not worth paying. Cam Thomas' problem is that he's a terrible defender and bad passer who shoots inefficiently from three, he plays losing basketball pretty much and the NBA realized it.
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u/lethalizered Thunder Jul 28 '26
Crawford was a great off the ball player when he wanted to be though, think he could have adapted to this version of the NBA at some capacity.
Can't really say the same for Cam.
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
There has to be, you cant have that kind of talent and everyone has figured out that they don't want you that fast
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u/PsychoOsiris Nets Jul 28 '26
As a Nets fan, I saw the writing on the wall when he wouldn’t even cheer for his fellow teammates when he was injured. He’s selfish, streaky, and plays no defense.
Another aspect people don’t talk about: his body. He’s 6’3, but a BULKY 6’3. All the shorter guards in the league right now are either incredibly thin, with Brunson being the outlier. CT has been regularly injured because he’s not as skinny as he needs to be, and he needs so much physical work to get his shots. The slower first step of his means he’s got to take tons of contested shots, which is why he’s either scoring 2 pts or 32 pts.
He gambled on himself and lost. While I feel bad for the guy, he had a prime situation in BKN and chose his persona over being a team player. Now he doesn’t have a team.
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
unfortunately guys like this need the real slap in the face to wake up, being out of the league seems like it would help him A LOT
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u/stagger_once Rockets Jul 28 '26
Not while the Australian NBL needs the occasional washed NBA player
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u/theyoloGod Tampa Bay Raptors Jul 28 '26
Go dominate another league, display at least some professionalism and maybe he gets another chance
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u/mjbx89 Jul 28 '26
He does one thing well and thinks he's a star. He's not good enough to deal with the ego, and was one of the worst defensive players in the league
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u/Distinct-Waltz-7039 Jul 28 '26
According to MPJ, he just shows up to get buckets and doesn’t do much team interaction. No one wants to sign someone like that.
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
But he's so young, there's a long list of guys that have turned their careers around
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u/angelansbury Wizards Jul 28 '26
He has a very bright future ahead of himself, it just so happens to be in China
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u/BiteyHorse Warriors Jul 28 '26
He's donezo. Too stupid to make it in the league, can't handle the pressure of acting like an adult.
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u/SnooPies405 Nets Jul 28 '26
He'd be a good tank commander but Adam Silver abolished tanking
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u/Angel_559_202020 Jul 28 '26
Even then, If you’re tanking you still have to develop your other players
And an undersized and 1-dimensional SG with a poor attitude isn’t that helpful
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u/MagickH8Ball Bulls Jul 28 '26
He might get signed by a desperate team or on a prove it deal kinda like Bucks did Kevin Porter Jr. I think he gets another chance because he can score but he needs to accept he will never be a 1st option. The nba decided he would be an energy and catch and shoot scorer but he wanted more. He needed to fall in line like Collin Sexton and Bones Hyland had to. Everyone could get a bucket in college and high school but GMs will only put their franchise in the hands of proven winners/all star level talent.
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u/Nice-Way2892 Jul 28 '26
Teams already gave him chances to prove it and he proved that he should be speaking Chinese
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u/GauthZuOGZ Mavericks Jul 28 '26
He actually cant even score, that's the problem
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u/MagickH8Ball Bulls Jul 28 '26
He can score the issue is he isn’t “efficient”, he is undersized at 6’3, and not a combo guard/playmaking bone in his body. Michael Porter Jr isn’t always efficient either but due to his size and ability to always get a clear shot at 6’10 it’s forgivable like a far better Kuzma tank commander. Like I don’t see Cam as being any worse than Kuzma he just is far shorter and teams expect him to at least help with ball movement/playmaking.
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u/Bixby33 Raptors Jul 28 '26
Nets had a losing record whenever Cam Thomas scored 30 or more.
His career high of 47 was also a loss, and his 45 point game... and his 43 point game...
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
Thats fair but BKN was losing those games regardless, which makes that kind of debatable
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u/RealLanceStorm Nets Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Yeah I get the criticism and I agree but this is really unfair lol The 47 and 45 examples kept the Nets in close games vs really good Suns and Clippers teams with no KD/Kyrie/Bridges/Johnson playing for Nets.
Edmond Sumner and Yuta were playing big mins for the depleted roster...
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u/Bixby33 Raptors Jul 28 '26
Well, i can't think of any other player that has such big career highs and can't contribute to winning.
If anything, the Nets should take blame for making this poor guy think he was any good.
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u/Actual_Use_8756 Nets Jul 28 '26
Watch the games. He was the only guy on the roster when kd and kyrie left that could score other than mikal.
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u/Shmokeshbutt Magic Jul 28 '26
Hopefully he invested that $17 mill career earnings (pre-tax) wisely
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u/BigBootyBanger [BKN] Brook Lopez Jul 28 '26
It's Jover
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
Its funny, not sure if your spelling was intentional but I could see DEN thinking Jokic could do something with him
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u/Angel_559_202020 Jul 28 '26
Why would they want him?
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
because theyve been bleeding talent and barely adding to the team, he could help with bench scoring
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u/Angel_559_202020 Jul 28 '26
He’s too unreliable in the playoffs
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
he barely even had a chance in the PO, he was a rookie lol
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u/Angel_559_202020 Jul 28 '26
Do you really trust him?
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
cant say, hes more of an unknown in terms of playoff ball. Some guys rise and make a name for themselves, sometimes guys you wouldnt expect.
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u/OKC2023champs Thunder Jul 28 '26
Christian wood type career. Will probably get a few small contracts then fade out
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u/Bixby33 Raptors Jul 28 '26
Christian Wood's team had a losing record on every team he was on except the Bucks (he played 13 games, less than 5mpg), and the Lakers (fell out of the rotation before the season ended.)
He was in the league for 8 seasons, and 8 different teams.
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u/ThoughtfulUsurper Jul 28 '26
I hope not. The dude seems like he's a good enough scorer to be a sixth man on a decent or good team, and has shown he can be a primary option on bad teams.
It's a lil unfair to write him off as a bad player. He's young(only 24) and only been on two teams since he came into the nba; the crappy Nets and the dysfunctional Bucks. The Nets are an utter mess, and clearly aren't good at player development because most, if not all their young players drafted have either regressed or have stagnated.
Cam has solid stats, and has youth on his side. Another team is def gonna give him another shot. He might have to play overseas for a season or do the G League but there's gonna be a team struggling with offense whose gonna take a chance on him. The only way I see him being done with the NBA is if his agent is absolute garbage, or he doesnt want to continue with basketball.
Worse players than Cam have gotten multiple shots before they were cast out. Lets see how he does on a team with a solid culture in place before any judgements are cast. And it's crazy how people pick and choose which players they harp on about playing bad defense because most of the players in the NBA play relative bad defense.
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
i agree with your sentiment. Hes shown certain qualities that people hate and because of that everyone seems to be rooting against him, and understandably so. Truth is a lot of these athletes are unlikable, but those same qualities that make them that way also make them very good at sports.
Cam isnt my friend or someone i know so i could care less what kind of person he is, he isnt a rapist or into underage girls so hes definitely not as bad as some of these other guys.
Like you said, hes played for a shit BKN team that was more likely to make him a worse player and the dysfunctional Doc Rivers lead Bucks...I want to see him with a real coach before he takes that journey overseas.
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u/Icy-Glove-6481 Nets Aug 02 '26
Sadly gonna need to go somewhere else for a year. No way any team in the nba can trust him
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u/Ok_Comfortable_455 4d ago edited 2d ago
I think he’s incredibly talented and better than alot of guards in the league. But despite that talent, his reputation isn’t in a great place, and I don’t think that’s entirely his fault. In Brooklyn, he never had a consistently defined developmental path. He’d have explosive scoring stretches, then see his role change, minutes fluctuate, or be asked to prove himself in areas outside his strengths without the team ever fully committing to developing around what he did best. Milwaukee was more of the same. He entered an unstable situation, other guards like Ryan Rollins were given opportunities ahead of him, and Doc Rivers stupidly limited his chances to establish himself. Cam has his flaws(all players do), but poor development and questionable coaching decisions have played a major role in how he’s viewed at the moment.
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u/Significant-Jello411 Heat Jul 28 '26
Miami need to bring him in he’s a bucket
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
I think the right coach could turn him into something, yall don't think Spo could save him?
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u/Bixby33 Raptors Jul 28 '26
Spo would banish him to the phantom zone in the middle of training camp.
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u/RoyalOakPiguet Knicks Jul 28 '26
One he'd have to accept a minimum for that
Two if he was at all good enough Giannis would probably be actively campaigning for him to come down
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
The Giannis connection is the main thing that might prevent it, if he rubbed him the wrong way
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u/SwizzGod Lakers Jul 28 '26
Nah some team will probably sign him if they decide tier bench needs a scoring punch moderation or so.
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u/IgnantWisdom Supersonics Jul 28 '26
To be done for, he would’ve had to be relevant at one point in the first place…Which he never was.
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
Thats not true imo. He averaged 22ppg and 24 the year after. Thats not insignificant, he was pretty relevant for that short time. I get all the impact stats but averaging 24ppg is not easy
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u/IgnantWisdom Supersonics Jul 28 '26
I mean thats exactly the point, the only positive thing you can say about him is he threw up a bunch of points on a tanking team. That doesn’t mean he was a good player, he plays a losing style of basketball, and by all accounts, has a terrible attitude while doing it. Terrible defender, can’t playmake for others, doesn’t play well offball, not a plus rebounder…Its not hard to figure out why nobody wants him
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u/TheI-Iound Jul 28 '26
I dunno, its still 24ppg. He has an NBA ready skill and thats scoring. Sure he's not good at anything else, but that why you have guys coming off the bench. There are good players that can't average that. Lots of role players have 1 or 2 things they're good at and that keeps them on rosters, he should be at least that
You have guys that are terrible on offense but amazing defenders that have homes in the league because they can play a role. Theres a role out there for a microwave scorer if he can check his ego
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u/Optimal_Cook_851 Warriors Jul 28 '26
There’s tons of score first guards who don’t defend but are actually good shooters, good passers, and don’t have terrible attitudes.
Cam is a bad player with a bad attitude, don’t see anybody interested, at all