Nets Coach Jordi Fernandez Wishes Cam Thomas Well Following Release from Team

The Brooklyn Nets waived Cam Thomas right after the trade deadline, ending a partnership that has pitted one part of the Nets' fanbase against the other for much of the past five years.

Thomas was undoubtedly an electrifying scorer and had many great moments in a Nets uniform, but he wasn't quite able to overcome some of the playmaking, defensive and injury concerns that have popped up throughout his time in the league.

This current iteration of the Nets seems to value elite positional size, which gives the team a ton of defensive flexibility and the ability to hunt mismatches on offense.

Though Thomas didn't quite offer positional size and all the traits Brooklyn is looking for at the guard position, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez recognizes the impact the microwave scorer did have during his time on Flatbush and Atlantic.

“That’s probably a question for management because my job is to coach the team on the floor," Fernandez said. "There’s communication and we’re on the same page, but I’m not going to speak for Sean [Marks]. When Cam was here, he wore our jersey, he played hard and competed. The only thing I can say is thanks for the time he spent with us. He always worked, always tried and was a teammate. Now it’s exciting for him to start somewhere else. We just wish him luck and say thanks for wearing our jersey.”

Thomas had an opportunity over the past couple of seasons to truly establish himself as a building block in Brooklyn, but his hamstring injuries prevented him from seeing the court as much as he would've liked to and his isolation style of play didn't quite mesh with what the Nets are looking for.

Michael Porter Jr. has emerged as the Nets' primary scorer this season, getting a large portion of his buckets through off-ball actions, much to Fernandez's delight.

Ball-dominant and isolation scorers will always exist in the NBA, but unless you can consistently provide 25 points per game on elite shooting splits and also thrive as an off-ball threat, like Kyrie Irving, players with that skill set tend to work better as a sixth man.

Thomas's ability to get a bucket off the dribble and get to the rim is a great baseline for becoming a lethal scorer, but given his limitations, it's probably best that he gracefully transitions into becoming a sixth man.