It was just two weeks ago that a report identified Cam Thomas as one of the young players the Nets could dangle in trade talks. Since then, Thomas’ role in Brooklyn has changed in a major way.
Thomas has scored at least 43 points in each of his last three games, totaling 134 points on 42-of-75 (56.0%) shooting in those three contests while knocking down 14-of-25 (56.0%) three-pointers. According to ESPN Stats and Info (Twitter link), the 21-year-old is the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in three consecutive games.
During an SNY TV appearance (Twitter video link), Ian Begley said he hadn’t gotten the impression prior to Thomas’ scoring binge that the Nets were looking to shop him, and that’s even more true now. If anything, Begley noted, Thomas’ play may result in more potential trade partners inquiring on the second-year guard as a valuable young asset as Brooklyn explores the market for roster upgrades.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Begley also confirmed during his SNY TV appearance that the Raptors are seeking center Nic Claxton as part of any major trade with the Nets. That represents a major “roadblock” in Brooklyn’s efforts to land a player like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, or Fred VanVleet, given what an important role Claxton has played for the team this season, Begley says.
- Speaking to reporters at an introductory press conference on Tuesday, new Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie stated that he expects to remain with the team through Thursday’s trade deadline, observing that it would be “silly” for Brooklyn to hold the press conference if that wasn’t the plan (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of Andscape). Brian Lewis of The New York Post passes along a few more of the presser’s notable quotes from Dinwiddie and new Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
- Madison Square Garden Sports president David Hopkinson said on Tuesday that the company would be open to selling minority shares in the Knicks, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Knicks owner James Dolan has been adamant that he has no desire to give up control of the franchise, but with franchise valuations skyrocketing, it sounds like he’s open to the idea of raising capital by giving up a smaller stake.
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News explores the Knicks‘ trade deadline outlook, suggesting that Cam Reddish will be a strong candidate for a buyout if he’s not moved by Thursday afternoon.
Even as a young player, I didnt get why Cam Thomas wasnt used more as a scorer the last couple of years, when kyrie was out especially, but that was one of several rotation questions there have been there these last 3 seasons. If you’ve seen.him play, it shouldnt be surprising
I disagree. I watched him quite a bit last year, and he reminded me more of Nickeil Alexander-Walker than a star. A guy who can go off at any moment, but lacks consistency. He looks different this year, more confident and his actions are smoother. He coordinates more effectively with his teammates. I look forward to seeing how well he and Durant work together once Durant comes back.
Depends on who is on the floor around him…
Be interesting heading to the deadline if the nets decide to move for younger players if they make moves.
Ben Simmons Cam Thomas Nic Claxton that’s a core. Obviously there will be clouds hanging over regarding KD and him requesting out but going young could be a fantastic option.
KD will be moved in the offseason. That is when his value will be highest. Love the Knicks here. They still have a stockpile of draft picks. They can add players like Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett to the deal. Brooklyn gets veteran players and a bunch of picks just like Utah did for Gobert.
Durant, Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson is a nice start. Add Royce O’Neal in the deal, and you have four starters to go with Grimes. Add Joe Harris to the deal for shooting. Still have Quickley and Toppin coming off the bench.
Brooklyn I don’t think would care for Randle, RJ and picks. Especially when talking about KD trade packages they will have much much higher targets
Cam Thomas is a scorer!!! He averaged 23 PPG as a freshman at LSU. That’s amazing. We all have to remember he was the 27th pick in the draft and got drafted by a team trying to compete for championships. He got picked last year and at that time they still had James Harden on the team along with Kyrie Irving and Patty Mills and Joe Harris. Then they traded James Harden and brought back Ben Simmons and Seth Curry so it just wasn’t no minutes for him to flourish. Fast forward and he’s able to play when Kyrie Irving sat out and now got traded. So he’s been playing exceptionally well and doing what he do best. I honestly think he can be a really good flat out scorer. He’s built like Bradley Beal with the 6’3 210 frame. He’s a true shooting guard that can control the rock like Bradley Beal as well. I’m thinking after James Harden and Kyrie Irving has left town for greener pastures and Ben Simmons being a shell of himself it’s going to be time this summer for them to trade Kevin Durant and rebuild the Brooklyn Nets. Your going to get at least three 1st round picks for Kevin Durant and a really nice young player. It’s going to be hard to move Ben Simmons contract. Ben Simmons will be around along with Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas and you can start building around that. It’s much better than paying all this money for a roster that can’t even make it out the first round of the playoffs.
It’s sad to see what’s going on with my boy Cam Reddish. I hope my Los Angeles Lakers get him from the New York Knicks. We really can use his defense because at this stage of Patrick Beverley career he can’t stop a nose bleed.
Cam is not a good defender. At all. He has the tools to be one, but his BBIQ is bad, his rotations are poor, and his effort level is inconsistent. At best, he can get you some steals but that’s about it.
Maybe a change of scenery helps but at some point it’s simply who he is.
I’ll be disappointed if the NYK buy out Reddish. That’s an accommodation you make to a veteran who’s earned it. Reddish has earned nothing. If he wants to forfeit the balance of his salary for the year, OK, but short of that, nothing.
BKN likely won’t, but really should, see if there’s a deadline market for Cam Thomas based on the last two games. In the long run, nobody builds winning teams with guys like him as foundation pieces.
Reddish is frustrating. On one hand he’s consistently been the odd man out and doesn’t get any minutes. On the other hand he is inconsistent when he does get time. Then again how is he supposed to develop when he’s in and out.
Knicks wasn’t a bad fit. Thibs was a bad fit. I think he has value off the bench somewhere if he has some direction. Toronto would be an interesting destination, Nurse is smart enough to use him.
I disagree. Largely because I don’t accept the premise that handing a young player unearned playing time enhances his development. There is a correlation between a player’s development and his minutes, but concluding that it’s the second causing the first is reasoning that you would likely (hopefully) laugh at in any other context.
Certainly, everyone isn’t dealt the same hand. Earning NBA minutes within a team can be a disjointed and uneven process, especially for young players, particularly those changing teams in mid-year or missing time with injuries, etc.
But Reddish was not dealt a bad hand at all. He’s played it horribly from the time he was drafted. Still, with the NYK, Reddish had a clear path to starter minutes across several positions going into the season. Honestly, what more could he want after 3 seasons of complaining and asking to be traded? I thought Thibs was the perfect coach for Reddish at that point in his career. He needed to be coached hard, he needed a meritocracy and he needed a coach that would prioritize what he could do well (if he wanted to) consistently (defense) – as his offense will likely never be consistent. Of course, with Thibs he had to play focused and hard, and buy in to the team thing, so, yeah, if that’s a problem then Thibs was a bad fit. Team Reddish shouldn’t be expecting different from guys like Nurse or Malone. A different Reddish might help though.
I don’t totally disagree with your premise but I don’t totally understand either. What was his clear path? And how are you supposed to develop if you don’t play in games? Are you saying he didn’t earn playing time at practice? I don’t really have visibility into that.
Also saying Thibs is a meritocracy is kind of disingenuous. As the best player on the team sure you merit the most minutes, but there are more than 5 players on a team for a reason.
Practically speaking, playing in NBA games is at some point a necessary part of developing into a quality NBA player. But it’s still true that most of the development of NBA players occurs outside of NBA games. With some of the best of the best, at least in the NBA, all the development needed to earn starter minutes was done prior to the draft. Very few though. For most, it’s a process, a back and forth of develop some, then play some, develop more, then play more, etc. The player is not a bystander in this process; he (not the coach) is the primary actor. It’s his career.
The meritocracy isn’t limited to the starters. All roles and minutes ideally should be consistent with what gives the team the best chance to win. As for the NYK specific situation, it became clear when we traded out of the draft and then didn’t trade for another wing, that Reddish and Grimes would have the rail to share minutes with Barrett at the 2 and 3 spots. Then Grimes got hurt at the end of the summer league. Reddish arrived in great shape, and did some good things in preseason and early season. Didn’t shoot well, but the real problem was that he never bought in to the team. He wanted different (bigger) roles than the ones assigned, and didn’t bring enough to the ones he had.
I hear you, real disappointing….
Hope he’s part of a bigger trade.
DeRozan to the Knicks ……