The chances of Lonzo Ball landing with the Golden State Warriors may have taken a spike on Sunday after the Milwaukee Bucks quickly pounced on one of most prominent free agents after the trade deadline.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets are signing young guard Cam Thomas to a rest of season contract after the 24-year-old was stunningly waived by the Brooklyn Nets following the deadline.
Warriors could land Lonzo Ball after Cam Thomas signs in Milwaukee
Thomas was never strongly linked with a potential move to the Warriors, but there were a number of fans and analysts on social media who believed his scoring ability could have been important for an offense currently without stars Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry.
The former 27th overall pick did have a more limited role with the Nets this season, yet averaged a career-high 24 points and 3.8 assists last season on 43.8% shooting from the floor and 43.9% from 3-point range.
Free agent guard Cam Thomas has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, his agent Tony Ronzone of Wasserman tells ESPN. Thomas, 24, averaged 21.4 points per game over the last three seasons with the Nets. pic.twitter.com/ki1SIWBG6G
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2026
Thomas' move to the Bucks takes out any possibility of the Warriors signing the score-first guard, leaving Ball as a prominent target for the franchise after the former second overall pick was traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers, then waived by the Utah Jazz before the deadline.
Haywood Highsmith, a former teammate of Jimmy Butler's at the Miami Heat, remains a possible option, but it's Ball who was connected with Golden State in a report from NBA insider Jake Fischer on Saturday.
Fischer reported that the Warriors still have to go through Ball's medial to finalize a deal, having also stated that the Western Conference rival Denver Nuggets had interest in the 28-year-old guard.
Ball averaged 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 35 appearances for the Cavaliers before the trade, yet shot only 30.1% from the floor and 20.2% from 3-point range. It's those shooting numbers, and Ball's injury history, that has Golden State fans nervous about his potential addition, but there's no doubt he's more of a Warrior/Steve Kerr style of player in comparison to Thomas.
The Warriors converted Pat Spencer from a two-way contract to a standard deal on Saturday, but remain with an open roster spot after trading Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis before the deadline.
Golden State could technically play out the season with just 14 players, but injuries to Butler, both Curry brothers, and the relative aging nature of the roster suggests they're likely to add a 15th, and all signs point to Ball as that last addition.