The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the worst bench scoring units in the first half of the 2025-26 NBA season. They still are, even after upgrading the reserves. That made many in Laker land believe Cam Thomas was a natural fit following his release from the Brooklyn Nets.
There was an open roster spot for the Lakers post-deadline, so they could have easily brought Thomas in, if they wanted to. Rob Pelinka and the front office went in another direction. They took a future-minded approach by securing Kobe Bufkin to a standard deal.
Just like that, 15 roster spots were full in Los Angeles. Thomas was not left without a team. The scoring guard ended up with the desperate Milwaukee Bucks. How did that experiment go? About as well as his loudest critics would have predicted.
Shams Charania reported on Monday night: "The Milwaukee Bucks are waiving Cam Thomas just weeks after signing him, sources tell ESPN."
Lakers made the right choice by ignoring Cam Thomas' availability
Think about the indictment that being waived by the Bucks is at this point of Thomas' career. Milwaukee was desperate for scoring, which is Cam's clear and obvious best quality. Despite that, the 24-year-old could not carve out a spot for himself after being given a chance and a green light.
It goes to show that the discussions around him have been right on the money. There is not a lot of room left for his archetype in the NBA.
On the surface, Thomas had averaged 10.7 points per game off the bench, shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 27.5 from beyond the arc. It was the usual dosage of inconsistent and inefficient scoring that was expected.
34 points in his second game with the Bucks created buzz around the potential fit. It just never amounted to the most ambitious of visions.
The common critique of Thomas has been questioning what value a team gets from him when the ball is not going through the hoop. The answer to that is very little to nothing. Thomas does not stand out majorly in other areas besides for scoring.
When your greatest attribute is not at a high enough level to keep up with the best in the game, and everything else that is brought to the table is subpar at best, there is just not a whole lot there to keep a franchise invested in you as a player. That was the experience with Thomas.
Bufkin may not have much of an impact on the Lakers this season, but Thomas could have actually been a detriment. The best move here for Pelinka was not making a move at all. That deserves some kudos.