The Cleveland Cavaliers watched from afar as the league's restricted free agents negotiated with their teams long into the summer. At long last, Cam Thomas and the Booklyn Nets came to a resolution -- but not on a new deal. And it's evidence that the Cavaliers made the exact right move a few seasons ago.
The league had a quartet of restricted free agents still languishing on the vine, and Thomas was the first one to pull the plug. With no teams around the league holding onto cap space -- other than the Nets themselves -- there was no way for Thomas to gain leverage for a new deal. In the end, he decided not to take a team-friendly deal and instead accepted his qualifying offer.
That means a paycheck this season of just $6 million, but it does give Thomas control over his ultimate destination; he can veto any trade, and he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. He is betting on himself and hoping to make back the money he passed on next summer.
That hope is likely misplaced.
Cam Thomas is a talented scorer; he averaged 24 points per game last season at age 23, and any time an NBA player outscores his age it's an impressive feat. If he had played in enough games to qualify for the scoring leaderboard he would have been among a who's who of the league's best players, all All-Stars or on max contracts.
Yet Thomas had no market, and certainly not an offer for a maximum contract. That's because Thomas does essentially nothing other than score. He averaged a career-best 3.8 assists, but given his usage that is a disappointing total for a small guard; he also threw the ball away for 2.5 turnovers per game. He is not a knockdown shooter, hitting only 34.9 percent from 3-point range. He's a turnstile on defense, essentially a designated scorer out on the court for the Nets.
Such a player is extremely difficult to build around. Too small to hold up on the wing, not a good enough passer to play point guard, not a good enough shooter to survive off-ball, not a good enough defender to justify being on the court if he isn't handling and scoring. NBA teams want versatility and scaleability, and Thomas offers neither.
The Cavaliers made the right decision with Collin Sexton
It should remind the Cleveland Cavaliers of a situation they faced just three years ago. Collin Sexton was a talented player who could score at an extremely high level. He was also beloved by his teammates and the organization, In his third season he averaged 24.3 points per game as a 6'3" scoring guard. After his fourth season was cut short by injury, Sexton hit restricted free agency, just as Thomas did this summer.
The Cavaliers could have brought Sexton back on a lucrative long-term contract. Points equal dollars in the NBA, and no one would have been shocked if Cleveland had committed to Sexton. Yet they had another talented guard on the roster in Darius Garland, and he was in some ways the opposite of Sexton -- a playmaker and passer, an off-ball shooter, everything offensively that Sexton was not.
That made it easier to play hardball with Sexton. In the end, the two sides never came to an agreement, and the negotiations stretched into the summer -- until Cleveland worked out a sign-and-trade that sent Collin to the Utah Jazz on a deal that paid him $16 million per season.
Cleveland rightly saw where the league was heading. Sexton has been good in Utah, a similar player in a smaller role to how he played in Cleveland. Yet this summer he was not only traded, but the Jazz had to pay the Charlotte Hornets a second-round pick to take Sexton and his expiring contract. That's despite the Hornets needing depth in their backcourt -- his contract was viewed as enough of a negative that he had negative trade value.
Collin Sexton is a good player and a great scorer. Cam Thomas is a good player and a great scorer. In the modern NBA, however, that type of player is not in high demand. Thomas will have to perform at a new level to earn a payday next summer; Sexton will try to do the same. And the Cavaliers have built a contender around a guard in Darius Garland who is everything that Sexton and Thomas are not.