Cam Thomas Is A Bucket But Can't Carve Out a Role

All right, let's, uh, finish with the topic that everybody wants us to talk about.

That is the curious case of Cam Thomas.

Cam Thomas, who was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks this week, uh, was hailed.

As a part of the team's present and future when he was signed off the streets, uh, from the Brooklyn Nets, uh, had 34 points in his first game with the Bucks.

Doc Rivers was comparing, comparing to Jamal Crawford was comparing him to Lou Williams.

Now here we are, 3 weeks to go before the end of the regular season and Cam Thomas is a buck no more.

This guy is fascinating.

Because he's a bucket.

Like he's a bucket, but he is wildly inefficient.

That much is clear from his numbers.

And if you look at some of the defensive numbers to bring it full circle back to that, the defensive numbers, they absolutely stink.

I saw a stat on hoop site.

Thomas is the worst defensive player in the league among players with 40 games, and Evan, it's not even close.

How bad he is defensively.

So, I, you tell me, like, you got a guy that can fill it up, that can give you 30 on any given night, that can create his own shot.

Yet the Brooklyn Nets who are playing for nothing, have said goodbye to him.

And the Milwaukee Bucks, who right now will take any talent that they can get to try to appease Giannistetokopo, uh, they decide that he's not worth their time.

What do you think of Cam Thomas who is now a free agent once again?

Well, I thought you said two things that really matter, especially for a small guard in this league that's not the lead guard, like the franchise.

One, you can't Be that bad a defender, and you're, you know what I mean, you're not a franchise player.

2, being inefficient is, as a little guard speaks for itself as well.

I think, uh, I think when it comes down to Cam Thomas and his background, we look at it like a lot of buckets.

He gets hella buckets, but when you're trying to win and change your identity or even change your culture, sometimes having a Cam Thomas around can really stunt that growth because his, his, um, his presence can be abrasive and not in a negative sense, just like When he plays, he needs the ball.

When you have him out there and say you go down the court, 8 trips, he might shoot 6 times.

And that's his game and it's all, no, I'm just saying, and that's his game.

And it's like, they've had tons of conversations where he's going in the summer league and try to like turn him in a point guard to pass.

He doesn't seem too interested in that.

And it's like, hey, like we, I like history, like Steve Nash trying to talk to him.

Like, do you understand what I'm saying?

Like, It's You're asking me what you think, like, he didn't want to sit behind Kevin Durant and, like he was upset he wasn't playing with them.

So if you're asking me what's occurring, I think, buddy, uh, You know, buddy probably got to find a different league or like, or, or reinvent himself.

He's at a point now where he needs to reinvent himself and coming off that bench, it's either, it's either you rise to the occasion or you find somebody else.

And I think him getting cut is just like his, his presence is abrasive.

I'm not saying like as a locker room guy, but just in general, like you have, when he plays on the court, it's going to be too much of his identity, and I don't believe he knows how to play any other way.

And I think also too, it's like, why would you have me out here if I'm not going to kill?

I mean, he tries every night, uh, but those numbers, I'm looking at the last month, uh, of Cam Thomas in Milwaukee shooting 39% from the floor and 27% from 3.

That's, That's not gonna be useful for a team that's trying to win any team that's trying to, and, and, and how many shot attempts?

I know, I know his numbers, they weren't that bad.

They weren't that bad in, I mean, his minutes were relatively low.

They're all under, mostly under 20 minutes per game.

So he averaged about 6.5 shots per game.

Uh, he had a couple of games where he was just chucking.

He was 3 for 11 against the Bulls, um, 7 for 12 against Orlando.

He seems to be playing really well against Orlando.

Um, but you go, but even some of those numbers into February 2 for 9.

Uh, 5 for 13.

You know, he wasn't terrible by his standards, but, uh, not, not efficient, not efficient at all.

This is a guy that turned down, you know, 2 years, 30 million from the Nets, like 1 year, about 10 million, I think from the Nets, and now, I agree.

Like, I think the question is, can he reinvent himself?

Like at this stage of his career, can he, can he become what Doc Rivers alluded to?

Can he become Jamal Crawford?

Can he become Lou Williams?

Those two guys were not great defensive players.

They'd probably be the first to tell you.

Um, can he become one of those guys, uh, I, I'd like to see it.

I think it's gonna take some emotional maturity.

I think it's gonna take some acceptance that, hey, I'm not, my pathway in basketball is not Kevin Durant.

My pathway in basketball is probably Jamal Lou, maybe Ricky Davis, like that kind of guy.

He's, he's one of those types of instant offense guys.

If he can wrap his head around that, become a better defensive player, become more of a willing playmaker, I think there's a place in the league for Cam Thomas.

I think a guy that can score like that, there's a place, but he's, he hasn't been willing to accept it in all his years in Brooklyn and clearly something was off in these last month or two in Milwaukee.

Yeah, and he has to sometimes too in this position as well, bro.

You gotta be a good locker room guy .

You gotta be good personable.

You gotta change a lot about you for them to want to like give you another chance.

And I think, uh, I'm not saying that to like be negative or anything.

It's like I, I've done it.

Like I went from being like, yo, I can't be a prima, like a prima donna or somebody saying he's a bad, a bad teammate, and I shoot freaking 16% from the field.

Like, do you understand what I'm saying?

And I think you have to really have to buy in more and, uh.

Step up, know your role, accept your role, and star in that role, and, and I, I, I really wanna see him mature in that sense because the, the It, it, it can't always be them and you have to, you know, you have to, you have to, you can't live in that, you know, what's ideal.

You have to live in like the world where it's realistic and you have to, uh , step up to that, to that, to that manner in that way.

Yeah, well, we'll see.

I don't think it's gonna happen for him this season.

See if he catches on.

In the summer, feels like a good, he feels like a good Sacramento King next year, don't you think like a a sacrament is you, you wanna know who does those moves like the Kings or the Bulls.

Yeah, so yeah, or low key, man, you never know.

Brad might be like, hey, it's still, I know that gun.

I know they say that gun broken, but them bullets shoot.

Like, you, you know what I mean?

If he gets, he needs to go to like a Miami, like somewhere where they can, well, I mean, you think about, you think about Boston, like they turned Anthony Simons into a credible, you know, defensive player, like credible enough that he's able to play 25 minutes per game, whatever he was doing out there.

So maybe, maybe there's some team out there that says we have the structure.

That can, you know, polish your weaknesses and maximize your strengths, maybe, yeah, and, and he has, and it ain't mean his, his scoring ain't a strength, it's a gift once he gets going, like, you know what I mean.

So that's, that's what you're, that's what you have to give him credit for.

He can get off that bench and microwave it, but he has to go from being like Cam Thomas to Gary Neal efficiency, you feel I mean?

Yeah, it's, I, I remember a guy like that was JR Giddens.

Did you play with him back in the day, Derek?

No, no, no, no, no, no, but I remember JR.

He was, he used to come up to me in Boston and he was a young guy back then, so I'll, I'll give him the some benefit there, uh, but this is when the Celtics had like Ray Allen and he was like, I should be playing.

I should be getting these minutes.

I should be playing some of these minutes.

He was, he was wild.

He was wild.

I mean, yeah, I mean, he went from Kansas to New Mexico, like, you know what I'm saying, like he never ever got.

It wasn't because of his talent.

It was just, he didn't get it.

You know what I mean?

But yeah, I, I, I, like I said, man, I'm praying for Cam Thomas.

that, hey, hey, baby, I respect the confidence, man.

You just got to figure it out, big dog.

Shit.

Yeah, no doubt.

All right, ET, enjoy Portland.

Enjoy the wineries.

Enjoy the game, and, uh, we'll do this again next week.

All right, big dog, I'll see you soon.