A day after Cam Thomas claimed he had nothing left to prove, the Nets countered by saying his stay in Brooklyn may rest on just how much he does prove.
On Jordi Fernandez’s first day of training camp Tuesday, he said Thomas — whom the Nets can either extend or let hit restricted free agency next summer — is a gifted young player.
But Thomas must hone those gifts, and accept help doing so.
“Yeah, numbers are important, but also film,” Fernandez said of improving Thomas’ efficiency. “Film doesn’t lie, and at the end of the day, what I want is for Cam to be a better player so we can be a better team.
“That’s pretty simple. It’s not rocket science. You either get better or you get worse. If he gets worse, then there’s a discussion of if he’s part of the future. If he gets better, he’s a very good player with great superpowers.”
Thomas’ superpower is scoring, averaging 22.5 points last season — and 25.2 after the All-Star break when interim coach Kevin Ollie replaced Jacque Vaughn. Now, Fernandez has succeeded Ollie, and has to guide Thomas to another level.
On Monday, Thomas had said, “I’m not really gonna change what I do. I’ll just make it more efficient,” and added, “I feel like I really have nothing to prove. I proved myself countless times in my tenure here, so if there’s still any more proving to do, then I don’t know what to say.”
But whether Tuesday’s first day of camp was an epiphany or just optics, Thomas, 22, talked about having to prove himself to Fernandez.
“It’s early,” Thomas said. “He’s still new, so I’m going out here to prove myself. I’ve still got to prove myself. Everybody’s seen everything on the film from last year, it’s a lot of promise, but I want to prove it to him in practice and preseason and obviously the games. So I just wanna keep proving myself day-by-day.”
That film showed Thomas shouldering the scoring load after Mikal Bridges went into a funk. He averaged 26.6 points after returning from a February ankle injury, and 28.0 over the final ten games.
With Bridges traded, Thomas is locked in as the first option. But that security hasn’t led to complacency.
“If you don’t have something that motivates you or drives you to keep getting better, striving to be better, then there’s no reason to be out here playing,” Thomas said. “So I’m going to keep that drive and keep that chip on my shoulder.”
Thomas has to prove his worth to not only Fernandez, but GM Sean Marks.
Tuesday started a three-week window to extend Thomas, but no talks are believed to have taken place and it’s more likely he hits restricted free agency, where league experts feel he could get offers in the $17.5-to-$20 million range.
“I’m pretty sure my agent will have conversations with them,” Thomas said, “but I’m just worried about the season. This is the opportunity I’ve been wanting since I got into the league: to play, be free, so I’m just gonna make the most of it, and whatever happens, happens.”
To make the most of that chance, Thomas will have to keep improving his defense, playmaking and efficiency.
The latter, according to Fernandez, can come through taking fewer dribbles.
Thomas’ effective field goal percentage on looks without a dribble is a career-high 65.8 percent, and a solid 50.8 percent on one dribble and 48.3 percent with two. But when he takes between three-and- six dribbles, it falls to 43.8 percent.
“We can show numbers, we can show film, we can show numbers with the film. I can sit down with him and walk through stuff. He’s a smart kid. He knows what I need from him,” Fernandez said. “I’m gonna keep sending the same message to him. … I’m gonna challenge him the same way I’m gonna challenge everybody else, because he has to be willing to be a better player. That’s what the NBA is.”
