The Nets waived Cam Thomas mainly because he wasn’t in their long‑term plans, they couldn’t trade him, and his on‑court fit, contract situation, and injuries made him easier to cut than to keep.

What actually happened

  • Brooklyn waived Cam Thomas right after the trade deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent instead of keeping him on an expiring deal.
  • The team had explored trades but found no serious market for him at his salary number, so waiving him became the cleanest way to move on.

Contract and “bet on yourself” angle

  • Last summer the Nets and Thomas couldn’t agree on a long‑term extension; Brooklyn reportedly offered multi‑year deals he turned down, then he signed a one‑year qualifying offer around 6 million with a no‑trade element.
  • That choice gave him short‑term control but left the team with little leverage and made it harder to use him as a trade asset, since he could effectively block certain destinations and was headed for free agency anyway.

On‑court fit and performance

  • Thomas is a high‑usage scoring guard who can put up points in bunches, but his efficiency dropped this season; his effective field‑goal percentage hit a career low and his scoring dipped into the mid‑teens.
  • As his shot slipped, his known weaknesses (defense, playmaking, impact when he doesn’t have the ball) became more glaring on a roster that was trying to re‑orient toward two‑way, system‑friendly players.
  • Advanced impact trends weren’t in his favor either, with the Nets generally not performing better with him on the floor outside of one season, which reinforced the idea that his bucket‑getting didn’t translate cleanly to winning for them.

Injuries and changing rotation

  • He dealt with multiple hamstring issues, including another left‑hamstring injury early this season, which sidelined him and disrupted any rhythm he had as a primary option.
  • While he was out, the Nets actually looked sharper, and when he came back his role was cut down as others stepped up.
  • Michael Porter Jr. emerged as the main offensive weapon, and rookie Egor Demin grabbed a starting role, which pushed Thomas further down the depth chart.

Roster direction and timing

  • Brooklyn is rebuilding and leaned into a development path and smaller trades around the deadline, prioritizing players they see as part of their future.
  • With one of the league’s worst records and a new core forming, the front office clearly didn’t view Thomas as a foundational piece, especially with his next contract around the corner.
  • Once no trade materialized, waiving him after the deadline essentially functioned as a “clean break” for both sides: Brooklyn got flexibility, and Thomas got the freedom to pick a new situation instead of being buried in the rotation.

How fans and media are framing it

  • National reporting frames it as the end of a long, awkward saga: stalled extension talks, a qualifying offer, injuries, a diminished role, and finally a cut when the trade market dried up.
  • Some coverage and forum chatter describe it as a classic “pure scorer whose flaws outweigh his scoring” situation: fun microwave guy, but hard to build a defense and ball movement around him.
  • From Thomas’s perspective, reports and quotes emphasize that he’s now “excited to actually help another team,” leaning into the idea that a fresh start could showcase his scoring in a better fit.

TL;DR: The Nets waived Cam Thomas because contract talks failed, his scoring‑first profile and defense didn’t match where the team is headed, injuries and efficiency issues hurt his value, and with no trade on the table, cutting an expiring deal was the simplest way to reset while letting him seek a better role elsewhere.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.