Cam Thomas positioned for massive role in Nets’ rebuild with chance to silence critics

Look at what’s left of the Nets’ roster and somebody has to score.

And score is what Cam Thomas does best.

The shooting guard impressed even Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden as a teenaged rookie.

Last season, he was Brooklyn’s leading scorer, even over Mikal Bridges — who was just traded for five first-round draft picks .

On a rebuilding Nets team that figures to be starved for offense?

He’ll likely have a green light that never turns yellow, and a usage rate that borders on absurd.

“Cam Thomas is very controversial. I actually like him. He can score. But does he do it at the expense of the team? That remains to be seen. TBD,” one scout told The Post.

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“Is he just a guy who scores on a bad team?” one Eastern Conference executive said to The Post. “Or is he more?”

That has been the big question surrounding Thomas, and will be until he answers it.

And he’s used to the questions by now.

“I’ve always gone through that stuff,” Thomas said before the offseason upheaval. “Whenever I … have a big season or leap, it goes a little under the radar or unnoticed. If other players do it, it’s all talked about a lot.

“Obviously, I’m kind of used to it in a way. I don’t really care. I go out there and play for my guys and the organization to be the best player I can be. … I want to go out there and be the best version of myself.”

Being the best version of himself will ultimately rest on improving his playmaking and defense.

Thomas made strides in both areas this past season, but will have to do so again.

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Thomas averaged a team-high 22.5 points last season, his quantum leap from 10.6 points the year prior the biggest in the NBA and largest in franchise history.

The only guards in NBA history with a lower turnover percentage (8.5) and higher usage rate (30.5): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tracy McGrady, George Gervin and Michael Jordan.

But that was for a 32-50 team.

Since then, the Nets have traded Bridges, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith have been put on the trading block and Lonnie Walker IV has hit free agency.

On a Nets team tied for the worst title odds for next season, Thomas could log the highest usage rate in the league.

And he was already prepping for a heavier workload.

“Just knowing that I could be doubled a lot more, coming off screens, or even in one-on-one situations, reading where the double will come from, seeing where teams double me, and the way teams double me,” said Thomas. “[My summer] will be reading, watching film and seeing where I can make quicker reads.

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“This year, I was going on the fly. … I never went through that, so everything was new and learning on the fly. I’ll look at that and keep going over it and find quicker solutions to beat the double.”

The Nets can hand Thomas — in the process of changing agents — an extension now that would kick in for 2025-26.

There are cap reasons for waiting to re-up him as a restricted free agent in a year when Brooklyn can have more than $60 million in cap room and analyst Yossi Gozlan projects Thomas will get $20-25 million annually.

By then, Thomas may have answered the question around the league about whether he’s just a guy who can score on a bad team or actually be a leader on a rebuilding one.

The Nets didn’t have any picks in the draft, but they have started adding some rookies.

They agreed to terms with KJ Jones II and Mark Armstrong as undrafted free agents Thursday night.

The Nets agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Jones, a 6-foot-6 guard from Emmanuel University.

The Division II Player of the Year, Jones scored more than 3,600 points in his career and led D-II this past season, averaging 26.2 points per game.

Armstrong — a South Orange, N.J. native — is a speedy 6-2 sophomore guard from Villanova.

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