Can Nets' Cam Thomas be Jordi Fernandez' Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Next Season

Recapping Jordi Fernandez's Olympic run to the Quarterfinals with Canada.

Aug 6, 2024; Paris, France; Canada guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball against France small forward Nicolas Batum (5) and shooting guard Evan Fournier (10) in the second quarter in a men’s basketball quarterfinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Team Canada, led by Net's head coach Jordi Fernandez, crashed out of the Paris Olympics despite having higher hopes of reaching the podium.

Fernandez led Canada to an unbeaten record in the group stage against teams like Greece, Australia and Spain. The Canadians were held under 80 points for the first time at the event versus France in the Quarterfinals despite roaring back late in the game to almost complete a comeback after being down 19.

When evaluating Fernandez's Olympic run as he returns to the Brooklyn Nets to start his first season as head coach, Shai Gilgeous-Alexader was his centerpiece for the offense, just like at the FIBA World Cup when Canada won their first ever World Cup medal. Gilgeous-Alexander had the green light as an orchestrator for Canada more than any other player on the roster on his way to averaging 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists. With Cam Thomas ready and waiting for Fernandez upon his arrival back in Paris, Thomas never had a full season with the green light as an orchestrator considering that Mikal Bridges is now a New York Knick.

After Mikal Bridges was traded to the New York Knicks, the offensive system deployed by the Nets is going to shift. One that might make Thomas a piece akin to Gilgeous Alexander for the Nets' reconstruction. In addition to Bridges' 24.3 percent usage rate in the 2023-24 season, which indicates what proportion of a team's possessions a player consumes when they are on the court, he averaged 15.8 shots attempted per game — second most for the Nets.

Thomas could become the primary playmaker at some point next season considering the attention he is drawing from opposing defenses because of his scoring. He showed flashes of doing so upon season's end last year versus the Knicks when he notched six assists on his way to scoring 41 points. Of all of his eight 40-point games, this was the first where he dished out more than five assists.

With the Nets guard expected to have his usage rate go up from last year's 30.5 percent, playmaking is going to be on Thomas' bucket list for improving next year. Gilgeous-Alexander himself isn't praised for his playmaking skills, but it's surely a department that he will look to improve on going into the season considering he was bested in the MVP race last year as a runner-up to a player that averaged significantly more assists than him.

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