LSU Guard Cam Thomas Drafted By Brooklyn Nets in First Round of 2021 NBA Draft
Cam Thomas is New York bound. Thomas was selected with the No. 27 pick in Thursday's draft by the Brooklyn Nets, officially becoming the first player of the Will Wade era to be drafted in the first round.
As a freshman at LSU, Thomas proved to be one of the most lethal scorers in the entire country, averaging 23 points a contest on 40% shooting and 32% from three point range.
The running theory on Thomas is that he'll be able to step into an NBA game right away and be able to contribute as a scorer, but what else will he be able to do? A reason he likely fell as far as 27 is that he didn't show off much playmaking or defense while at LSU, something Wade said is on him and the staff.
"I think he's a very good playmaker and he showed it at times, we didn't really ask him to do a whole lot of playmaking," Wade said. "Defensively he was locked in at certain points but some of that's on us. We told him to score and be a little bit of a passive defender so those are areas he'll show more at the next level."
Going to a team in Brooklyn with championship aspirations, Thomas will get to learn from the likes of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant.
"The dude is a shooter, he's got a great step back that's really his go to," Jay Bilas said. "He shoots off the balance and is not afraid to take on any challenge on the offensive end."
Thomas will have some questions to answer with the Nets if he hopes to see the floor consistently but considering how cap strung that team is, he could find the rotation very soon. ESPN insider Bobby Marks got to spend some time with Thomas ahead of the draft, calling him a steal and predicting he'd get into the Rising Stars Challenge as a rookie.
Likely starting out as a rotational piece, he'll also have to adjust to only getting between five and 10 shots in a game as opposed to the 17.2 he took while at LSU. With that, being more selective of his shot taking will be required.
