Cam Thomas won’t be on the floor Thursday night in Orlando.
He wasn’t on the team plane, either.
The Nets ruled Thomas out for personal reasons ahead of their road game against the Orlando Magic, a decision that comes with Thursday’s NBA trade deadline looming at 3 p.m. ET and, understandably, invites questions that go beyond the injury report.
It doesn’t confirm anything. But it certainly doesn’t quiet the noise.
There’s recent precedent for caution here.
Michael Porter Jr., who drawn significant trade interest around the league, missed Friday’s game in Utah and Sunday’s game in Detroit for personal reasons, only to remain on the roster and log 32 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers at Barclays Center.
Absence, by itself, isn’t proof of movement. Still, the timing around Thomas is hard to ignore.
The 24-year-old guard spent much of the summer in restricted free agency before ultimately signing a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer. That decision gave him control of his immediate future but also placed him squarely in the middle of the league’s trade chatter this season. The Nets reportedly presented him with two alternative offers over the offseason: a two-year, $30 million deal with a team option and a one-year, $9.5 million contract that could’ve reached $11 million with incentives but required waiving his no-trade clause. He declined both.
Since returning from a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for 20 straight games from Nov. 7 through Dec. 23, Thomas has been operating in a different role than he opened the season with. After averaging 21.4 points across his first eight appearances, all starts, he’s come off the bench since Dec. 27. Over his last 24 games, he’s averaged 15.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 24.3 minutes per night while shooting 39.9% from the field, 32.5% from 3-point range and 84.3% from the free-throw line.
Thomas missed 57 games last season, mostly because of the same lingering left hamstring issue. In the 25 games he did play, he posted career-best numbers: 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 43.8% shooting, 34.9% from deep and 88.1% at the line. At the same time, the Nets quietly produced the best defensive rating in the league during December while Thomas was sidelined.
Brooklyn’s already started making moves. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors agreed to a multi-team deal sending Chris Paul to Toronto, while Brooklyn received Ochai Agbaji, a 2032 Raptors second-round pick and cash considerations. The move adds another wing into Brooklyn’s mix and signals that the front office is actively reshaping the roster as the deadline approaches.
Agbaji, 25, appeared in 42 games for Toronto this season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. He’s on a $6.4 million expiring deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer. By taking on Agbaji, the Nets now hold 21 second-round picks through 2032. They also have 16 players on standard contracts after the trade and will need to either move a player without taking one back or waive someone to remain roster compliant.
Thomas remains one of the Nets’ most natural scorers, but he also represents a complicated intersection of timeline, role and contract status. A player on a one-year deal, with a scoring résumé, at the deadline, missing a game for personal reasons while not traveling with the team is going to invite speculation, fair or not.
Again, it doesn’t confirm a trade is imminent. Porter’s recent absence proved that much. But it does fit the pattern of a deadline week where the Nets are clearly evaluating everything on the roster.
Whether Thomas is still part of that evaluation by Thursday afternoon remains to be seen.
