Cam Thomas has averaged more than 20 points a game over the last three seasons. The Pistons could scoop him up for basically nothing. Should they do it?
Thomas was waived by the Nets after Thursday's NBA trade deadline, making him a free agent eligible to sign with any team in the league. The 24-year-old shooting guard told ESPN shortly after the news was announced that he's "super excited, ready to actually help and contribute to another team."
"My next team is getting elite scoring, good playmaking and a good combo guard."
Could it be the Pistons? They could certainly use another scorer to support Cade Cunningham, even off the bench. That's the role that Thomas played for the Nets this season and averaged 15.6 points in 24 games. That would lead Detroit's bench by a wide margin. In fact, Cunningham is the only player for the Pistons averaging more points per 36 minutes this season than Thomas.
Injuries limited Thomas to 25 games last season. But he averaged 24.0 points in a starting role, same as Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell, and shot a solid 35 percent from three. He averaged 22.5 points and shot 36 percent from three in much larger sample the season before that.
The issue as it relates to the Pistons is three-fold. One, Thomas is considered a liability on defense, which is a basically a non-starter for Detroit under J.B. Bickerstaff. Two, he might be looking to sign with a team where he can start, which wouldn't be the case with the Pistons, who lead the East.
And three, the Pistons would exceed the roster limit by signing Thomas, having already waived Isaac Jones to make room for trade acquisition Kevin Huerter while likely planning to waive Dario Saric to convert Dannis Jenkins' two-way deal into an NBA contract. At that point, the only real cut candidates on Detroit's roster would be Bobi Klintman and Chaz Lanier, second-round picks of the Pistons in the last two drafts.
In other words, don't count on it.