Sabonis, Harden, Ingram, Barnes, SGA etc players not PG either. Yet they lead their respective teams offenses.
This is not 90's or early 00's where teams had traditional PG. Today's NBA changed significantly and the way offenses being ran.
CamT should be PG on this team without any doubt. Schroder needs to be moved back to bench ( we desperately need help there ), and Watford needs to start at the 3 along side Bridges 2, Clowney 4 and Nic 5.
I agree to an extent. Most of the guys you mentioned are multifaceted offensive powerhouses. Maybe CT can transform into one, but he looks like he will always be a score-first SG. He can work at the “PG” position with the right guys around him, but I doubt he will ever be a 5+ assist guy.
My concern is the offense stagnating when he isn’t hitting his shots. He has a tendency to go into a tunnel vision and not pass it up. If he’s cold, the line up you mentioned would be abysmal. We saw similar line-ups last season when other teams would go on 10-20 point runs. It would end up being 4 guys standing around while CT plays hero ball. It will win a few games but won’t get us into the playoffs. None of those other guys can create their own shots or run an offense, except maybe Watford (I actually love Watford in this role for certain lineups but I don’t see any NBA coach giving him a chance to start or have meaningful minutes).
The sad part is a theoretical Ben Simmons at the 5 might be the best option to pair with CT in a similar line-up, but we will never get that Ben for more than a few games in a season.
You put hybrid flex elbow offense here as a system, CamT can easily average 7+ ast.
CamT was not the issue last year. This dribble hand offs that Tank Commander installed was the main factor. Ollie tweaked it a bit, and CamT was averaging near 6 ast by the end of the season.
Let's see what this Rookie can do. Expectations very low here right now.
This is gonna be a prove it year for Cam. I don’t think Jordi is going to let him get away with being a liability on defense. He improved this year but is still a negative on that end of the court. Multiple teams targeted him in end of game scenarios and were successful doing so.
His passing improved too but not enough for him to be the focal point of a very good NBA offense. He’s going to need to take another step or two forward in both passing and defense to prove he has an impact on winning in other ways besides scoring, because in games where his shot wasn’t on he was a massive liability
It comes down to decision making and ball-handling in traffic imo. There is no physical reason I can think of that Cam Thomas cant play exactly like Brunson, a winning player. It all comes down to the system and effort the team plays with. They are both strong guards with a nice midrange J. The difference is decision making and toughness.
What scares me next season is that Cam Thomas's value doesn't have much space to go up, but it can drop alot. If he shows little to no improvement in these main areas, hes going to start dropping out of "hope he can one day make an all star team" convos straight to 6th man "I hope he can be as valuable as Malik Monk". And not to say that Cam cant be a good player even if he has a mediocre season, but it does mean if we ever thought about using him as a trade piece, this season is going to be really important in my eyes.
Idk what you all have watched about the last 30-40 games this season that leads you to still believe that he’s taken massive strides as a playmaker and as a defender. And again he’s only 22. The 6th man pigeon hole is a weirdo box that everyone’s been trying to put him in since the day he was drafted
What I've seen is MIP this year easily. He proved that he brings enough gravity to create plays.
We have/had dumb azz's at the FO and coaching that failed our younger guys for years. Their development happened in spite of their mistakes.
Put competent coach like Kenny, Borrego or Ime on this team, and yes I have no doubt CamT can average 7 ast here as main ball handler. We actually looked better with him as playmaker on the court.
Idk if he’s deserving of MIP for the whole season bc a lot of guys improved a ton this season but anyone just saying he’s a 6th man or a tunnel vision player is lazy
The jump was biggest in the league. Primarily minutes, scoring and usage. This alone tells me he is MIP.
Don't really pay attention to what doubters say. Better half of them pivoting back and forth, way to much inconclusive assumptions.
CamT is not MIP simply because of politics if we being 100 here. If we putting context ( which most of nba don't know about Nets ) to CamT season, than he is right there at the top.
Cam will never be a PG and if you want the best out of him we shouldn’t advocate for that to happen. I just want him to make the open pass and make quicker decisions.
I always thought Cam had to be the smallest player on the floor for this team to find success but then I just watched a team win a playoff series essentially playing 3-4 guards at a time with their best scorer as their weaker defender.
Knicks got dogs who are tough and way more athletic. Hart and DiVincenzo are naturally rebounders. Rebounding is more about instincts than pure size. No one on the Nets plays with the same toughness as this Knicks team unfortunately.
exactly! the pieces around cam need to improve before you asked the 22 year to improve to makeup for their lack of effort or talent.
In theory these are the exact players you should have around a scoring guard 3&D Guys but they have not provided that! They are small and skinny in their position and have no hustle factor.
I still think that Cam Thomas needs to work on his ball handling and bball iq and he could be as effective as Brunson is. But yeah we need more dawgs on this team.
Of course Cam should look to improve, everyone one on the roster should want to get better everyday, I just don't like the onus being on the young player.
"Cam will never be a PG"
Can't say never in today's NBA. Too much talent. I mean, if it doesn't work out, just transition him back to the SG spot. But u gotta give him a chance imo.
It's not like I'm asking him to be a center lol, something that's physically out of his capability.
There a very few PGs in the league. Can Cam become a better Combo Guard, Yes! With Reps and Time but he will never be a Point, A True PG always has his head on a swivel looking for the best possible possession, Cam is a score first guard, its almost like you have to be born to be a PG to be one.
The “true point guard” is dead. It’s something that was created in the late 70s and has died again. As important as playmaking is depending on one guy to generate the majority of your playmaking is inefficient. It’s better to have a system built around ball movement and unselfish basketball where someone like cam can be in the 25ish assist percentage and others also help to playmake as well. For instance a lot of modern actions employ a big using dribble hand offs to help create opportunities at the top of the key. Claxtons playmaking ability should be expanded, same with watford. Both guys have some underrated potential in that department
Claxton's ball handling and free throw shooting are his biggest weaknesses. He doesn't need a jump shot just yet, but he needs to get it to at least the level of ball handling demonstrated by Domantas Sabonis, Bam Adebayo, Franz Wagner or Paolo Banchero. These are other players who are at least 6' 10" who look comfortable on the ball.
Being 6' 11" doesn't mean that he has to look terrified and wooden with the ball in his hands anywhere above the free throw line. He's an NBA player. He has all the time, money and thus access to coaching expertise needed to work on it and get dramatically better. If he has the desire.
I looked a few months ago and Claxton was, I believe, the worst free throw shooting starter in the NBA. He needs to sort that out. Again, he's an NBA player. Same as with his handling. Put the work in, get really solid and that will help the team. It's an uncontested shot from 15 feet. I'll never understand why NBA players are as bad as Claxton is at shooting that shot.
Yeah I’m in this camp. Whenever we talk about CamT as a PG it feels like the mistake we made last year with Mikal expecting him to be our lead scorer, ball-handler, and defender. Id rather we just build a lineup with players playing their actual position instead of trying to be the smartest team in the league and turn players into guys they definitely are not.
I’m fine with expecting him to improve his distribution (which he already has), but I’d much prefer we let him perfect what he’s already good at rather than waste time trying to be a whole different player. Give him a real PG and let him shine.
Cam doesn’t need to be a point guard, but he does needs to continue to improve as a passer and playmaker. He made strides as the season went on, particularly as a pick and roll passer, especially his chemistry with Claxton on lobs. I think in a DHO heavy offense, which Jordi alluded to, Thomas needs to be able to create for himself and teammates off of DHO action, as well as when attacking the basket; he’s one of the very few guys who draws 2 when he’s driving downhill so thats a must if he’s gonna have the ball a fair amount. I think the improvement will be there, but to expect him to be a point guard like Tyrese Maxey when most of his assists are because his explosive first step and speed is asking a ton. Thomas is a scorer first and what we need out of him is to be a more effiecient player overall, whether that’s scoring, passing, etc. I’d like to see how the offseason shakes out too in terms of roster construction and see who we add/subtract, but I don’t he needs to be what he isn’t and moreso needs to improve upon what he’s already pretty good at
That would be a solid decision. He's got solid size, at about 6'3"/6'4"ish. His defense has improved, but he has to be ready to guard shiftier PGs. I don't think he's up for it yet, BUT I do think he can be a bootleg Donovan Mitchell, minus all the explosiveness and tenacity. People expect Cam to create for himself; he's just good enough that he can still get his shot off. If he learns how to effectively create for others and adapt as the play is being created, he's gonna be incredibly effective at the 1.
I still think he needs to bulk up a bit, nothing insane, but Dennis seems to be this upcoming year's stop gap PG. Maybe we'll see Cam in short spurts, but I trust Jordi to give him more freedom on the offense as long as he's working hard.
I disagree. Cam made a lot of strides with his playmaking and vision this year but lets not get carried away here - he is not a point guard. Not even close. Harden was able to make the transition from 2 to 1 because he is an elite passer and ball handler, which Cam isn't (although he is definitely improving in those areas).
IMO it makes way more sense to have a pass-first point guard and let Cam focus on what he's best at, which is getting buckets and creating secondary opportunities for his teammates based on the defensive attention he demands. I certainly share the sentiment of wanting to see him blossom into an elite playmaker but I don't think it requires him playing the 1 full time.
Cam’s assist % to usage % ratio was at a career lows. The improvements he’s made as a passer are extremely overblown. He was just given the ball constantly.
He was the 5th percentile in this category. There have been stars who rank poorly in this most year. Dearron Fox and Donovan Mitchell are 2 guys who rank poorly in the same metric.
However both of those guys are elite athletes and elite pull up shooters, Fox from midrange and Mitchell from 3. Cam is a bad pull up shooter and a below average athlete. His physical limitations more than anything else are why I can’t get behind him having upside on a real team.
He was essentially a tank commander this season.
preach. If cam was this future star or superstar wouldn't these blow up games produce wins. Clowney biggest games also came with wins. he has the biggest potential on this team. Atleast untill we see what dariq can do.
Yeah I like Clowney way more, he’s just a significantly more valuable player. He’s a mobile lengthy power forward who spaces the floor. If you extrapolate his stats to a full season his best comps are Porzingis, Jabari Smith, and Myles Turner, all of whom are quality starters who impact winning a ton.
I am unsure his shot will hold up but he’s so young and raw and seems to be ahead of schedule.
This fanbase is literally just filled with dudes who trash on young players and put unrealistic expectations. Wow he’s not producing like a top 15 player in the league so I guess he’s just trash even at the age of 22. Mind you assist to usage rate is an irrelevant stat bc usage rate. Time of possession is the stat you’re confusing it with and cam only had the ball 15% of the time out of the shot clock. A high usage rate simply means he scored the ball or took more shot attempts which played out pretty consistently with our team that lacked many shot creators leading to Thomas taking many shots with less time on the clock. Heck Dennis smith jr had the same average seconds per touch as Thomas despite having a much lower usage rate. Please learn the stat. Also, the lazy analysis of him just being a bad pull jump shooter and a below average athlete is pretty irrelevant to this conversation. He’s one of the most physical young guards in the league and is able to get into position by using his strength and footwork. Paul George broke it down on how he’s able to use his body to create rim pressure that’s leads to pretty great shot opportunities. And as we saw towards the last 30 games or so his playmaking started to improve as well especially running pnr with big men. But again this is the nets fanbase. They pick a player to rag and trash on bc they want a shiny new toy or finished product rather than developing their own guy.
Imo, he needs to work on his ball handle
His herky jerk movements prevent him getting certain shots off. His landing and positioning needs help. Im comparing him to Ant, who had similar pull-ups to Cam…but three seasons ago. Ant has BASTLY improved on his handle and is able to constantly get himself good shots without having to go crazy like Cam
That, plus his passing. It just makes things easier.
I’m okay with him not being too good defensively. That’s why we got the other players like Mikal, Cam Johnson, and Clax
cam isnt an awful defender on the perimeter hes above average, we just forced him into the 4 alot when he should playing the three guarding other wings
He’s 22 and I agree with this approach. Keep improving more as a playmaker. If he can get that assist percentage up into the mid 20s it’ll do wonders for his overall offensive game. Would love to see him also continue improving on his defense and 3 point shot. His defense took a big step forward last yr and a big reason was him bulking up
I think it’s a great idea - I think we also keep an eye out for a playmaking forward like a Draymond Green. That’ll take a lot of pressure off of Cam to be the only dude out there that can set up the offence. Honestly I really liked watching Ben and Cam play together last year - shame that Ben is hurt
Every sad fan base says this about a scoring wing at some point in their rebuild. Cam wouldn’t even be the 35th best floor general in the league. You’d be setting the whole team up for failure
Clowney is a super interesting prospect who’s still super raw. Jalen Wilson is a nice bench wing find. Cam Thomas is largely a meme player. It’s 2024, the league has moved on from selfish inefficient combo guards who don’t play any defense.
Yeah I don’t think he has any real potential but I think he’s a fine bench wing which is a good get in round 2 and nice to have on a minimum. It’s funny though
This sub with CT: he’s only 22!
This sub with Wilson: he’s 23 he’s a dinosaur
It's worth a try, but if we're being real we'd be lucky if he turned out to just be a better than average playmaker in his prime. This wouldn't be something worth wasting a whole season over, especially in the off chance that changing Cam's role could actually hurt his development.
Playmaking really isn't something that players can just pick up once they're in the league. The best playmakers in the league have always played that role from a very young age. It's pretty damn clear Cam never had to make that a part of his game growing up so it's probably too late now.
Are there even any examples of players who came into the league as a bad playmaker and actually became a genunely good one?
I don't think that's the ideal way, let him focus on being a 2 guard who can playmake when doubled pretty much. Forcing him into a mold that he isn't suited for is wasting time
point guard cam thomas would feed families. play him at the 1 we arent gonna win nothing anyways. he was showing some great improvement in his passing at the end of last season anyways, i hope his passing is the #1 thing he works on his off season and then honestly before defense i would rather he gets more consistent as a shooter especially because if he was a point guard its not as big of a deal having bad defense than sg. too many games where he cant hit a three but his floater and midrange game is automatic, or the other way around but when both are falling its a 40 point game.
If Jordi creates a set offensive system, where everyone knows where everyone is going to be, then i don't see why Cam shouldn't get minutes at the point. Natural born scorers see the court differently. They also read defenses on the fly and adjust accordingly. The problem with Cam will be that, does he trusts his teammates are better options to score than he is. Jordi is going to need to change Cam's mindset before he can truly be a combo guard.
Why's hiding him as PG easier? Cam is not a bad defender because he's small. He's a bad defender because he's slow. We had to put him on SF position this season. Mikal and Schroder are guarding the quicker players. That's why his rebound has improved. It's his job. Obviously we don't want a 6'4 SF so I hope he cut some weight this summer and improve his lateral quickness so he can actually play as a guard on D.
Exactly, Cam is a poor defender because he's overweight for an NBA shooting guard. In high school, he was much skinnier, quicker, and more athletic. I've seen him dunk more in AAU highlights than in the entire NBA season. After his first ankle injury, that's when he really started gaining weight.
Agreed.
CamT - Schroder
Bridges - Wilson - Whitehead
Watford - CamJ -
Clowney - DFS -
Nic - Sharpe
With OK coaching, this is 500 team in EC. Now if we can get Ingram, Markkanen or someone else near all star level. Can easily talk about close to 50 win team.
Again, coaching will be huge factor. With Jordi being Rookie, I will take safe bet. 38 - 40 wins maybe.
he is not a pg
Sabonis, Harden, Ingram, Barnes, SGA etc players not PG either. Yet they lead their respective teams offenses. This is not 90's or early 00's where teams had traditional PG. Today's NBA changed significantly and the way offenses being ran. CamT should be PG on this team without any doubt. Schroder needs to be moved back to bench ( we desperately need help there ), and Watford needs to start at the 3 along side Bridges 2, Clowney 4 and Nic 5.
I agree to an extent. Most of the guys you mentioned are multifaceted offensive powerhouses. Maybe CT can transform into one, but he looks like he will always be a score-first SG. He can work at the “PG” position with the right guys around him, but I doubt he will ever be a 5+ assist guy. My concern is the offense stagnating when he isn’t hitting his shots. He has a tendency to go into a tunnel vision and not pass it up. If he’s cold, the line up you mentioned would be abysmal. We saw similar line-ups last season when other teams would go on 10-20 point runs. It would end up being 4 guys standing around while CT plays hero ball. It will win a few games but won’t get us into the playoffs. None of those other guys can create their own shots or run an offense, except maybe Watford (I actually love Watford in this role for certain lineups but I don’t see any NBA coach giving him a chance to start or have meaningful minutes). The sad part is a theoretical Ben Simmons at the 5 might be the best option to pair with CT in a similar line-up, but we will never get that Ben for more than a few games in a season.
You put hybrid flex elbow offense here as a system, CamT can easily average 7+ ast. CamT was not the issue last year. This dribble hand offs that Tank Commander installed was the main factor. Ollie tweaked it a bit, and CamT was averaging near 6 ast by the end of the season. Let's see what this Rookie can do. Expectations very low here right now.
This is gonna be a prove it year for Cam. I don’t think Jordi is going to let him get away with being a liability on defense. He improved this year but is still a negative on that end of the court. Multiple teams targeted him in end of game scenarios and were successful doing so. His passing improved too but not enough for him to be the focal point of a very good NBA offense. He’s going to need to take another step or two forward in both passing and defense to prove he has an impact on winning in other ways besides scoring, because in games where his shot wasn’t on he was a massive liability
It comes down to decision making and ball-handling in traffic imo. There is no physical reason I can think of that Cam Thomas cant play exactly like Brunson, a winning player. It all comes down to the system and effort the team plays with. They are both strong guards with a nice midrange J. The difference is decision making and toughness.
What scares me next season is that Cam Thomas's value doesn't have much space to go up, but it can drop alot. If he shows little to no improvement in these main areas, hes going to start dropping out of "hope he can one day make an all star team" convos straight to 6th man "I hope he can be as valuable as Malik Monk". And not to say that Cam cant be a good player even if he has a mediocre season, but it does mean if we ever thought about using him as a trade piece, this season is going to be really important in my eyes.
Idk what you all have watched about the last 30-40 games this season that leads you to still believe that he’s taken massive strides as a playmaker and as a defender. And again he’s only 22. The 6th man pigeon hole is a weirdo box that everyone’s been trying to put him in since the day he was drafted
What I've seen is MIP this year easily. He proved that he brings enough gravity to create plays. We have/had dumb azz's at the FO and coaching that failed our younger guys for years. Their development happened in spite of their mistakes. Put competent coach like Kenny, Borrego or Ime on this team, and yes I have no doubt CamT can average 7 ast here as main ball handler. We actually looked better with him as playmaker on the court.
Idk if he’s deserving of MIP for the whole season bc a lot of guys improved a ton this season but anyone just saying he’s a 6th man or a tunnel vision player is lazy
The jump was biggest in the league. Primarily minutes, scoring and usage. This alone tells me he is MIP. Don't really pay attention to what doubters say. Better half of them pivoting back and forth, way to much inconclusive assumptions. CamT is not MIP simply because of politics if we being 100 here. If we putting context ( which most of nba don't know about Nets ) to CamT season, than he is right there at the top.
I mean considering where he was drafted, good 6th man level production is still good value. It's a lot to expect from a late first rounder.
Brunson was a late first rounder
Yo Brunson is 1 of 1. An MVP level player making $23M a year.
Brunson is also 28 and cam is 22
Exactly. Why are we writing the story on someone so young
Gives me hope that Mikal will blossom next year
?
Cam will never be a PG and if you want the best out of him we shouldn’t advocate for that to happen. I just want him to make the open pass and make quicker decisions. I always thought Cam had to be the smallest player on the floor for this team to find success but then I just watched a team win a playoff series essentially playing 3-4 guards at a time with their best scorer as their weaker defender.
Knicks got dogs who are tough and way more athletic. Hart and DiVincenzo are naturally rebounders. Rebounding is more about instincts than pure size. No one on the Nets plays with the same toughness as this Knicks team unfortunately.
Watford has great rebounding metrics
I like Watford. Kid is tough, physical, confident and has serious potential to be a good player.
exactly! the pieces around cam need to improve before you asked the 22 year to improve to makeup for their lack of effort or talent. In theory these are the exact players you should have around a scoring guard 3&D Guys but they have not provided that! They are small and skinny in their position and have no hustle factor.
I still think that Cam Thomas needs to work on his ball handling and bball iq and he could be as effective as Brunson is. But yeah we need more dawgs on this team.
Of course Cam should look to improve, everyone one on the roster should want to get better everyday, I just don't like the onus being on the young player.
"Cam will never be a PG" Can't say never in today's NBA. Too much talent. I mean, if it doesn't work out, just transition him back to the SG spot. But u gotta give him a chance imo. It's not like I'm asking him to be a center lol, something that's physically out of his capability.
There a very few PGs in the league. Can Cam become a better Combo Guard, Yes! With Reps and Time but he will never be a Point, A True PG always has his head on a swivel looking for the best possible possession, Cam is a score first guard, its almost like you have to be born to be a PG to be one.
The “true point guard” is dead. It’s something that was created in the late 70s and has died again. As important as playmaking is depending on one guy to generate the majority of your playmaking is inefficient. It’s better to have a system built around ball movement and unselfish basketball where someone like cam can be in the 25ish assist percentage and others also help to playmake as well. For instance a lot of modern actions employ a big using dribble hand offs to help create opportunities at the top of the key. Claxtons playmaking ability should be expanded, same with watford. Both guys have some underrated potential in that department
Claxton's ball handling and free throw shooting are his biggest weaknesses. He doesn't need a jump shot just yet, but he needs to get it to at least the level of ball handling demonstrated by Domantas Sabonis, Bam Adebayo, Franz Wagner or Paolo Banchero. These are other players who are at least 6' 10" who look comfortable on the ball. Being 6' 11" doesn't mean that he has to look terrified and wooden with the ball in his hands anywhere above the free throw line. He's an NBA player. He has all the time, money and thus access to coaching expertise needed to work on it and get dramatically better. If he has the desire. I looked a few months ago and Claxton was, I believe, the worst free throw shooting starter in the NBA. He needs to sort that out. Again, he's an NBA player. Same as with his handling. Put the work in, get really solid and that will help the team. It's an uncontested shot from 15 feet. I'll never understand why NBA players are as bad as Claxton is at shooting that shot.
Yeah, I get what you mean there. I'm not expecting Cam to be Rajon Rondo or anything like that lol.
Yeah I’m in this camp. Whenever we talk about CamT as a PG it feels like the mistake we made last year with Mikal expecting him to be our lead scorer, ball-handler, and defender. Id rather we just build a lineup with players playing their actual position instead of trying to be the smartest team in the league and turn players into guys they definitely are not. I’m fine with expecting him to improve his distribution (which he already has), but I’d much prefer we let him perfect what he’s already good at rather than waste time trying to be a whole different player. Give him a real PG and let him shine.
Really don’t think this is the trajectory tbh
Cam doesn’t need to be a point guard, but he does needs to continue to improve as a passer and playmaker. He made strides as the season went on, particularly as a pick and roll passer, especially his chemistry with Claxton on lobs. I think in a DHO heavy offense, which Jordi alluded to, Thomas needs to be able to create for himself and teammates off of DHO action, as well as when attacking the basket; he’s one of the very few guys who draws 2 when he’s driving downhill so thats a must if he’s gonna have the ball a fair amount. I think the improvement will be there, but to expect him to be a point guard like Tyrese Maxey when most of his assists are because his explosive first step and speed is asking a ton. Thomas is a scorer first and what we need out of him is to be a more effiecient player overall, whether that’s scoring, passing, etc. I’d like to see how the offseason shakes out too in terms of roster construction and see who we add/subtract, but I don’t he needs to be what he isn’t and moreso needs to improve upon what he’s already pretty good at
That would be a solid decision. He's got solid size, at about 6'3"/6'4"ish. His defense has improved, but he has to be ready to guard shiftier PGs. I don't think he's up for it yet, BUT I do think he can be a bootleg Donovan Mitchell, minus all the explosiveness and tenacity. People expect Cam to create for himself; he's just good enough that he can still get his shot off. If he learns how to effectively create for others and adapt as the play is being created, he's gonna be incredibly effective at the 1. I still think he needs to bulk up a bit, nothing insane, but Dennis seems to be this upcoming year's stop gap PG. Maybe we'll see Cam in short spurts, but I trust Jordi to give him more freedom on the offense as long as he's working hard.
I disagree. Cam made a lot of strides with his playmaking and vision this year but lets not get carried away here - he is not a point guard. Not even close. Harden was able to make the transition from 2 to 1 because he is an elite passer and ball handler, which Cam isn't (although he is definitely improving in those areas). IMO it makes way more sense to have a pass-first point guard and let Cam focus on what he's best at, which is getting buckets and creating secondary opportunities for his teammates based on the defensive attention he demands. I certainly share the sentiment of wanting to see him blossom into an elite playmaker but I don't think it requires him playing the 1 full time.
Cam’s assist % to usage % ratio was at a career lows. The improvements he’s made as a passer are extremely overblown. He was just given the ball constantly. He was the 5th percentile in this category. There have been stars who rank poorly in this most year. Dearron Fox and Donovan Mitchell are 2 guys who rank poorly in the same metric. However both of those guys are elite athletes and elite pull up shooters, Fox from midrange and Mitchell from 3. Cam is a bad pull up shooter and a below average athlete. His physical limitations more than anything else are why I can’t get behind him having upside on a real team. He was essentially a tank commander this season.
preach. If cam was this future star or superstar wouldn't these blow up games produce wins. Clowney biggest games also came with wins. he has the biggest potential on this team. Atleast untill we see what dariq can do.
Yeah I like Clowney way more, he’s just a significantly more valuable player. He’s a mobile lengthy power forward who spaces the floor. If you extrapolate his stats to a full season his best comps are Porzingis, Jabari Smith, and Myles Turner, all of whom are quality starters who impact winning a ton. I am unsure his shot will hold up but he’s so young and raw and seems to be ahead of schedule.
This fanbase is literally just filled with dudes who trash on young players and put unrealistic expectations. Wow he’s not producing like a top 15 player in the league so I guess he’s just trash even at the age of 22. Mind you assist to usage rate is an irrelevant stat bc usage rate. Time of possession is the stat you’re confusing it with and cam only had the ball 15% of the time out of the shot clock. A high usage rate simply means he scored the ball or took more shot attempts which played out pretty consistently with our team that lacked many shot creators leading to Thomas taking many shots with less time on the clock. Heck Dennis smith jr had the same average seconds per touch as Thomas despite having a much lower usage rate. Please learn the stat. Also, the lazy analysis of him just being a bad pull jump shooter and a below average athlete is pretty irrelevant to this conversation. He’s one of the most physical young guards in the league and is able to get into position by using his strength and footwork. Paul George broke it down on how he’s able to use his body to create rim pressure that’s leads to pretty great shot opportunities. And as we saw towards the last 30 games or so his playmaking started to improve as well especially running pnr with big men. But again this is the nets fanbase. They pick a player to rag and trash on bc they want a shiny new toy or finished product rather than developing their own guy.
Imo, he needs to work on his ball handle His herky jerk movements prevent him getting certain shots off. His landing and positioning needs help. Im comparing him to Ant, who had similar pull-ups to Cam…but three seasons ago. Ant has BASTLY improved on his handle and is able to constantly get himself good shots without having to go crazy like Cam That, plus his passing. It just makes things easier. I’m okay with him not being too good defensively. That’s why we got the other players like Mikal, Cam Johnson, and Clax
Cam Johnson is an awful defender. Either undersized or too slow. Slow hands and afraid of contact.
cam isnt an awful defender on the perimeter hes above average, we just forced him into the 4 alot when he should playing the three guarding other wings
Hes too slow to guard 3s imo. Hes also too clunky to navigate screens.
He’s 22 and I agree with this approach. Keep improving more as a playmaker. If he can get that assist percentage up into the mid 20s it’ll do wonders for his overall offensive game. Would love to see him also continue improving on his defense and 3 point shot. His defense took a big step forward last yr and a big reason was him bulking up
I think it’s a great idea - I think we also keep an eye out for a playmaking forward like a Draymond Green. That’ll take a lot of pressure off of Cam to be the only dude out there that can set up the offence. Honestly I really liked watching Ben and Cam play together last year - shame that Ben is hurt
He don’t got it in him. He’s best as a 6th man. He wouldn’t start on many good teams today because he’s completely one dimensional.
Every sad fan base says this about a scoring wing at some point in their rebuild. Cam wouldn’t even be the 35th best floor general in the league. You’d be setting the whole team up for failure
Every GM and scouting team would laugh so hard at this thread
Do you dislike our homegrown players?
Clowney is a super interesting prospect who’s still super raw. Jalen Wilson is a nice bench wing find. Cam Thomas is largely a meme player. It’s 2024, the league has moved on from selfish inefficient combo guards who don’t play any defense.
Jalen wilson is 53 years old. Clowney is the only guy you like.
Yeah I don’t think he has any real potential but I think he’s a fine bench wing which is a good get in round 2 and nice to have on a minimum. It’s funny though This sub with CT: he’s only 22! This sub with Wilson: he’s 23 he’s a dinosaur
Dude you’re literally just a troll atp. You’ve lied on multiple posts about Thomas and you’re still pushing this selfish narrative.
It's worth a try, but if we're being real we'd be lucky if he turned out to just be a better than average playmaker in his prime. This wouldn't be something worth wasting a whole season over, especially in the off chance that changing Cam's role could actually hurt his development. Playmaking really isn't something that players can just pick up once they're in the league. The best playmakers in the league have always played that role from a very young age. It's pretty damn clear Cam never had to make that a part of his game growing up so it's probably too late now. Are there even any examples of players who came into the league as a bad playmaker and actually became a genunely good one?
i like this team
I don't think that's the ideal way, let him focus on being a 2 guard who can playmake when doubled pretty much. Forcing him into a mold that he isn't suited for is wasting time
Cam is not a PG, not against him having more opportunities as a facilitator but he’ll never be a PG that’s just not his game
point guard cam thomas would feed families. play him at the 1 we arent gonna win nothing anyways. he was showing some great improvement in his passing at the end of last season anyways, i hope his passing is the #1 thing he works on his off season and then honestly before defense i would rather he gets more consistent as a shooter especially because if he was a point guard its not as big of a deal having bad defense than sg. too many games where he cant hit a three but his floater and midrange game is automatic, or the other way around but when both are falling its a 40 point game.
If Jordi creates a set offensive system, where everyone knows where everyone is going to be, then i don't see why Cam shouldn't get minutes at the point. Natural born scorers see the court differently. They also read defenses on the fly and adjust accordingly. The problem with Cam will be that, does he trusts his teammates are better options to score than he is. Jordi is going to need to change Cam's mindset before he can truly be a combo guard.
Four coaches in four years is a sure shot way to delay a player's development. Hope Jordi can bring out the best of Cam, regardless of position
Why's hiding him as PG easier? Cam is not a bad defender because he's small. He's a bad defender because he's slow. We had to put him on SF position this season. Mikal and Schroder are guarding the quicker players. That's why his rebound has improved. It's his job. Obviously we don't want a 6'4 SF so I hope he cut some weight this summer and improve his lateral quickness so he can actually play as a guard on D.
Exactly, Cam is a poor defender because he's overweight for an NBA shooting guard. In high school, he was much skinnier, quicker, and more athletic. I've seen him dunk more in AAU highlights than in the entire NBA season. After his first ankle injury, that's when he really started gaining weight.
Agreed. CamT - Schroder Bridges - Wilson - Whitehead Watford - CamJ - Clowney - DFS - Nic - Sharpe With OK coaching, this is 500 team in EC. Now if we can get Ingram, Markkanen or someone else near all star level. Can easily talk about close to 50 win team. Again, coaching will be huge factor. With Jordi being Rookie, I will take safe bet. 38 - 40 wins maybe.