The Milwaukee Bucks have been rumored to have interest in Cam Thomas, and they are all alone on that front. Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, while the Brooklyn Nets fielded trade offers for Thomas, the Bucks were the one team with legitimate interest in him. Now that he's a free agent, it feels like they will be the front runner to sign him because there isn't much interest elsewhere.
"I haven't heard anything about a team that would want Cam Thomas. The one team we heard was Milwaukee, but they did not want to pay draft capital to acquire him. Could he go to Milwaukee now? It's possible, but that's the only real spot I've heard with Cam Thomas interest all along."
Bucks could snag target no one else may pursue
Teams' disinterest in Thomas is justifiable. In today's NBA, small score-first guards who don't play on the defensive side of the all are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Teams are becoming more and more reliant on two-way, lengthy players who can play countless different positions. That's just not a description Thomas will ever fit.
Nobody wanted to trade for Thomas at the deadline, and given that he's still available, it looks like no one is eager to outright sign him as a free agent after being waived.
The Los Angeles Lakers felt like they could be a legitimate suitor for his services, given that they rank dead last in bench points per game this season. However, instead, the Lakers opted to promote their two-way guard Kobe Bufkin to a standard contract. That says a lot about how they felt about Thomas, given that he was there for the taking. Plenty of other teams likely have the same stance.
While he wouldn't solve all of their problems, Thomas could help the Milwaukee Bucks attack one of their biggest problems: scoring. The Bucks are 27th in the NBA in points per game this season, and Thomas, a proven bucket-getter, could be a band-aid solution to that problem. Over the last three seasons, he has averaged 21.4 points. For that alone, he might be worth a gamble.
On a minimum contract, signing Thomas would not break the Milwaukee Bucks if he were to struggle. In fact, given their struggles this season, one would argue using a roster spot to sign a 24-year-old is the ideal move to assess what he can bring to the table. The Bucks must keep stacking young talent, and without much draft capital or spending money, this could be a low-risk route.
The elephant in the room is that Pete Nance feels like the inevitable player who will get Milwaukee's last roster spot. Do they like Thomas enough to clear another spot? That's the question at hand, and only time has the answer. Yet, they shouldn't feel rushed, as the Bucks might be the only team on the hunt for Thomas.
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