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Among the main storylines of the Brooklyn Nets' offseason is the restricted free agency of Cam Johnson.
The 27-year-old was among the team's top performers after Brooklyn acquired him at the deadline as part of a package for Kevin Durant. In 25 games following the trade, Johnson averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 47/37/85 shooting splits.
More importantly, he was the Nets' most efficient source of offense during their first-round sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 18.5 points on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent from three. The series likely earned Johnson some extra dollars as he enters free agency for the first time in his career.
HAVE A HALF, CAM JOHNSON.
22 points (Playoff career-high)
4 threes
9/13 FG📺: TNT | Game 2 | PHI Leads 1-0#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/e8smk0R9tm
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2023
The Houston Rockets are among the teams targeting the 6'8″ sharpshooter, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
“Outside of Harden, other high-ranking targets for Houston include Brook Lopez, Dillon Brooks and restricted free agents Cam Johnson and Austin Reaves,” league sources said.
Houston will enter the offseason with nearly $60 million in cap space and a reunion with James Harden looming. Johnson turned down a four-year contract from Phoenix worth between $66 and $72 million early this season, according to HoopsHype. He is now expected to earn a deal in the neighborhood of four years, $90 million.
While Cam Johnson was non-committal about the idea of re-signing with Brooklyn, he spoke highly of the Nets organization during his exit interview.
“I’ve talked to the people here a little bit in terms of how the season went and what the future could look like,” he said. “The people in this organization, I believe are very, very high-quality people. Everything from the front office to coaching staff to performance staff to equipment staff, to chefs. And that is not lost upon me.
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“I take that into very serious consideration. I don’t assume that that’s the case everywhere. I think there’s a special group of people here and that’s really the main thing that I take away from this end-of-season push.”
Cam Johnson on his contract decision this summer:
“I’ve talked to the people here a little bit in terms of how the season went and what the future could look like. The people in this organization I believe are very high-quality people… That is not lost upon me. I take that… pic.twitter.com/xD2m8Un7qF
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 23, 2023
The Nets have the advantage of having Johnson's “Twin,” Mikal Bridges, under contract for the next three seasons. While Johnson said remaining teammates with Bridges will play a factor in his decision-making, don't expect that to earn Brooklyn a sizable discount after the forward passed on offers in pursuit of a more lucrative deal early this season.
Whether the prospect of paying the luxury tax will play a role in Johnson’s negotiations remains to be seen. The Nets have $146 million in guaranteed salary next season. Re-signing Johnson at $20 million annually would push them over the $162 million projected luxury-tax line.
While general manager Sean Marks said the Nets “aren't gonna pay tax just for the sake of paying tax,” he did call retaining Johnson “a big priority” this summer.
“Cam knows how we feel,” he said. “He adds a lot to our group, not just on the court. Everybody sees what he delivers on the court, but when you see him in the locker room, it’s certainly refreshing to be around. Hopefully he’s here, but he’s gonna have decisions to make, so at the right time we will certainly be having those discussions with him and his agent, and we hope that Cam will be back. He’s a big priority for us. There’s no question.”
Marks is no stranger to testing opposing teams' limits in restricted free agency. He signed Allen Crabbe to a four-year, $75 million offer sheet in 2016, which was matched by the Portland Trail Blazers. He then inked Tyler Johnson to a four-year, $50 million offer sheet, only for it to be matched by the Miami Heat.
Could the Nets GM get a taste of his own medicine from another young, up-and-coming team this offseason? At what point is the number for Cam Johnson too rich for Marks or owner Joe Tsai?
It won't be long before those answers reveal themselves.
