Michael Porter Jr. says Cam Thomas personality led to Nets downfall: Doesnt really talk to anybody

After Cam Thomas got dumped by both Brooklyn and Milwaukee this season, former teammate Michael Porter Jr.said it was more about attitude than ability. “There’s a lot more to the NBA and sticking around than just [scoring],” Porter said in a revelation that always seemed to escape Thomas.

“For Cam, I think it was a mixture of he was frustrated with a lot of things, and also his personality … he doesn’t really socialize.He’ll come to the gym sometimes and he’ll say like two words all day, all practice.

He doesn’t really talk to anybody. “I don’t think he does it in a way where he’s trying to be a bad teammate; I just think that’s him.But when it comes to a team being willing to pay you and come off that money and you’re a No.

1 option, it comes with so much more.I don’t know if he was willing to break out of his personality and be talkative and try to be a leader and bring guys together.

I think that’s kind of what happened here in Brooklyn.” Porter was speaking on the “Road Trippin’ Show” podcast about a broad range of topics, including about him being a No.1 option on a team. It’s a role that Thomas viewed himself capable of filling, and the young guard did average team-highs of 22.5 points and 24.0 points in the past two seasons for the Nets.

But after rejecting multiple contracts from the Nets last summer — a two-year, $30 million deal with a team option, or a one-year, $9.5 million pact — he ultimately settled for the $5.98 million qualifying offer. In the end, Thomas managed just 15.6 points in an injury-marred campaign and got waived by Brooklyn.He got picked up by Milwaukee, but cut loose there as well.

While he flashed the ability to get buckets, his shortcomings in terms of defense, playmaking, and — ultimately — self-awareness see him now unemployed. “I know he was frustrated about the contract the year before, and the fact that Brooklyn didn’t really pay him how he wanted,” Porter said.�...