Three former Brooklyn Nets are still sitting on the free-agent market, and Bleacher Report’s latest ranking puts one of them near the very top of the board.
Bruce Brown Jr. is the highest-rated ex-Net on the list, landing at No. 2 overall among the NBA’s top remaining free agents ahead of the 2026-27 season. Ochai Agbaji checks in at No. 5, while Cam Thomas rounds out the group at No. 10.
Thomas’ path to this point has already taken a sharp turn. Brooklyn re-signed him to his qualifying offer last offseason, but his run with the Nets ended partway through the 2025-26 season. As the team turned its attention toward developing its younger players, Thomas was moved on and eventually landed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Across 42 games split between Brooklyn and Milwaukee, Thomas averaged 13.5 points per game. That was a steep drop from the 24.0 points per game he posted with the Nets the year before. Even so, his scoring touch still defines his value.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus called Thomas a professional scorer while also noting that teams are still uneasy about whether his style translates to winning basketball. Pincus added that Thomas could still get another shot in the NBA, though overseas play could become a possibility if the right opportunity doesn’t come along.
Agbaji is in a different spot, coming off his first season with Brooklyn after arriving from the Toronto Raptors during the 2025-26 campaign. The 26-year-old had trouble from long range overall, shooting 26.6 percent from three-point range. But his numbers improved once he got to the Nets, where he hit 34.9 percent of his attempts from deep.
That blend of size and versatility gives Agbaji a real chance to carve out a reserve role elsewhere. At 6-foot-5, he brings defensive flexibility, and Bleacher Report believes he could work his way onto a roster even if the path starts with an Exhibit 10 contract and some time in the G League.
Brown, meanwhile, remains the most proven name of the three. He returned to the Denver Nuggets last season after playing a key part in their 2022-23 championship run. During that title season, he shot 38.5 percent from three and showed exactly why teams value him: he can defend, handle the ball, make plays, and fit into just about any lineup without needing touches.
Bleacher Report still slotted Brown at No. 2 on the free-agent list, though Denver’s luxury-tax situation could complicate any reunion. For now, the three former Nets each sit in a different lane: Thomas is chasing another team that believes in his scoring, Agbaji is trying to turn improved shooting and defense into a roster spot, and Brown remains one of the more dependable veteran options available.
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