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After over a year of trade speculation, the Brooklyn Nets parted ways with Cam Johnson during a busy start to their offseason. The rebuilding squad dealt the 6-foot-8 sharpshooter to the Denver Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. Bill Simmons crushed Brooklyn's front office following the deal.
“Did they have to even put Cam Johnson in the trade?” Simmons said. “I just think that trade, the more I thought about it over the last five days, is one of the worst trades of the decade. You have to attach a pick to get rid of Porter, and I also didn’t get anything for Cam Johnson? Nothing?”
“It’s bad. I thought it was a miracle trade for the Nuggets when it happened… Porter, I didn’t think was tradable unless you took like a Bradley Beal. You know, $78 million for two years. He has a bad back. He has a f–ked up shoulder… For [the Nuggets], he was a complete impediment to making their roster better… here comes Brooklyn, and they’re like, ‘We just need one pick.’ It’s f–king crazy.”
Simmons and co-host Ryen Russillo discussed the trade in a segment outlining the NBA's “bleakest” team situations. The duo pegged the Nets as the Eastern Conference's second-worst situation.
Bill Simmons crushes Nets for ‘f–king crazy' Cam Johnson-Michael Porter Jr. trade
Much of Simmons' Nets vitriol appears to stem from his low opinion of Michael Porter Jr. as an asset. The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter is owed $79 million over the next two seasons and has had stretches where he's struggled as an offensive decision-maker and defender. He also has a lengthy injury history, including multiple back ailments early in his career and a shoulder issue during this year's playoffs.
Yet, Porter Jr. was an integral piece of the Nuggets' 2023 championship run. He's averaged 17.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 49/40/78 shooting splits over the last three years. And despite his injury concerns, he missed only four games over the last two seasons, while Johnson missed 49.
Johnson has never played over 66 games in a season in his six-year NBA career.
The Nets may feel they can flip Porter Jr.'s $41 million expiring contract in 2026-27, possibly as the main salary filler in a trade for a star. They could also extend the former first-round pick, who is two years younger than Johnson, to a more reasonable contract following that season.
Simmons doesn't appear to be placing as high a value on Denver's unprotected 2032 first-round pick as others. Nikola Jokic will be 37 when the pick conveys, and with the Nuggets depleting their assets to win now, NBA general managers have been eyeing the team's last tradable first-rounder.
“That was a prized asset the Nuggets gave up,” one general manager told ESPN. “Teams have been eyeing that one to see if they'd actually use it [in a trade].”
Simmons' assertion that the Nets could have acquired Denver's first-round pick by absorbing Porter Jr.'s contract without giving up Johnson feels off-base. Had the Nuggets used the pick to dump Porter Jr. for nothing in return, they would have had little recourse to acquire a player of Johnson's caliber.
Time will tell whether Simmons' scathing critique of the trade is justified. Johnson will be a core piece for the Nuggets as they attempt to win their second championship with Nikola Jokic. Meanwhile, Porter Jr. will try to rehabilitate his value as he steps into an expanded role with the Nets.
