Overobsessed with scoring, 30 million annual salary is difficult, Thomas needs to be more versatile

Cameron Thomas may be the most depressed free agent this summer. He originally thought he could get a contract with an annual salary of $30 million, but he did not expect that he would respond very little, and he was positioned as a substitute, which was very different from his original idea.

Thomas played 25 regular season games last season, averaging 24 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, shooting percentage of 43.8% and three-point shooting percentage of 34.9%.

On paper, Thomas deserves a contract similar to Harden's current one.

But anyone who has seen Thomas play knows that Thomas has too single function, which means he can only score points.

The league is still in the small ball era, and scoring ability is not a scarce resource.

If it were placed in the 2000s and 10s, Thomas could produce the above data, and an annual salary of 30 million is just the starting salary.

The team values a player's all-round attributes more, including scoring, rebounding, assists, defense, hard solution, influence on the game, etc.

This means that although a player doesn't score high, he is versatile and can also get a high salary.

The reason why those top stars can get contracts with annual salary of more than 40 million is that they not only have strong scoring ability, but also have a stronger impact on the direction of the game situation. Although Harden averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.5 breaks and 0.7 caps per game last season, although his score was not high, the all-around star directly pulled the full amount.

This means that we think his annual salary is less than US$40 million, which is definitely worth the money.

With his current comprehensive strength, an annual salary of more than 40 million US dollars is easy, but at this stage he cares more about playing comfort, being able to play more games, and enjoy the fun brought by basketball.

Thomas of the Nets still has a clear gap in strength compared to Harden. He is not an All-Star star, let alone a super giant.

Although Thomas was born and gave high-scoring performances in succession, it was once eye-catching. He played 66 regular season games in the 23/24 season, averaging 22.5 points per game, once allowing fans to see his huge potential.

But after the end of last season, we developed it, and it seemed that he would only score, or was more obsessed with scoring, and other attributes did not expand effectively.

This is a bit single for a defender. This means that in the Nets, which have weak overall strength, Thomas has enough firepower. If it is replaced by other teams, whether Thomas can maintain this scoring output will have a big question mark.

Even though he was as strong as "the strongest 175 on the surface", Isaiah Thomas, due to his single function, he failed to get a big contract at his peak. You should know that he averaged nearly 29 points and 6 assists per game at that time.

Fortunately, Thomas is only 23 years old and is still in the rising period. Judging from his performance in playing, he should be a good shooting guard, but he needs to fill his own weaknesses as soon as possible, increase his influence on the court, and enhance his voice in salary negotiations.

In fact, it is still acceptable for the Nets to be willing to give an annual salary of about $20 million. At least he can play as a main point guard, which ensures his playing time to the maximum extent.

With the guarantee of playing time, Thomas has room and opportunities to improve. It takes about 2 seasons to make himself more versatile. A $30 million contract is not the ultimate goal.

The annual salary of "Bobby" who left the Clippers this summer is only about $20 million, and his scoring ability and impact on the game are far beyond Thomas.

If Thomas switches to other teams, it is difficult for the team's main players to get a guarantee.

It is basically a dream to continue the current output as a substitute player, and this is not Thomas' original intention.

So Thomas' most practical choice is to base himself on the present and grow rapidly in the Nets, just like Lowry and Schroeder before.