The Bucks have waived Cam Thomas, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter). The move is official, Milwaukee announced in a press release (Twitter link).
As we noted in a separate story, Thomas was cut loose because the Bucks wanted to promote Pete Nance, who was signed to a multiyear standard contract. Nance was previously on a two-way deal.
It’s a surprising development, since Milwaukee targeted Thomas immediately after the trade deadline. However, he was on a minimum-salary contract that only covered the rest of the season, so he makes sense as an odd man out if he isn’t part of the team’s plans beyond 2025/26.
According to Charania (Twitter link), general manager Jon Horst pitched Thomas on the idea of being a key part of the Bucks’ present and future, and head coach Doc Rivers compared the high-scoring guard to a couple of Sixth Man of the Year winners he coached earlier in his career (Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams) shortly after the deadline.
While this hasn’t been confirmed, it’s possible that Thomas may have been the one who sought a change of scenery. The 24-year-old had been playing fewer minutes (16.6 per game) with the Bucks than he was with the Nets (24.3 MPG) and received a pair of DNP-CDs last week. Thomas asked Brooklyn to waive him last month.
In 18 games with the Bucks, Thomas averaged 10.6 PPG, 1.9 APG and 1.6 RPG on .431/.275/.754. The former first-round pick is a notoriously subpar defender and also struggled with turnovers in Milwaukee (1.4 per game).
The Bucks will carry a dead-money cap hit of $844,607 if Thomas clears waivers in a couple days. Thomas would be a free agent at that point, but he won’t be eligible to compete in the playoffs because he was released after March 1, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter).
If Thomas is claimed on the waiver wire, his cap charge would transfer to the team that adds him and Milwaukee would no longer carry his salary on its books. However, he would remain ineligible to participate in the postseason.