The Brooklyn Nets have a lot of excitement surrounding them heading into the 2023-24 season as they look to make it back to the playoffs. The team has changed considerably since the February deadline brought about the ending of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving superstar era, but that means that there is plenty of room for surprises.

The player who could be the biggest surprise for the Nets is guard Cam Thomas. Thomas, 21, is in an interesting place within Nets nation as there are some who believe that he deserves more playing time while there are others who think that he hasn’t earned more of a role because of his deficiencies in playmaking and defense.

At this moment in time, Thomas is a microwave-scoring bench dynamo who can clearly accumulate buckets when given the time on the court. The question will be if he can improve on his flaws enough to possibly be the sixth-man off the bench that Brooklyn will need given its decrease in scoring options.

With the current roster, Thomas will be battling with players like Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Smith Jr. for minutes at the backup guard spot, not to mention Ben Simmons or Spencer Dinwiddie, depending on who loses the starting point guard competition out of training camp. The odds are stacked against Thomas in terms of playing time, but if he has improved on his game enough this summer. he could be the player that Nets fans have been waiting for.

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire