Subscribe
Follow Us
NBA executives viewed Cam Johnson as one of the league's most obvious trade candidates entering this year's deadline. However, with the deadline less than 24 hours away, all is quiet on the Brooklyn Nets front. With trade speculation surrounding Johnson cooling, the veteran wing will return from a six-game injury absence on Wednesday vs. the Washington Wizards.
While the Nets could still move him before 3 PM Thursday, his return to the lineup adds to the growing belief that a trade is unlikely. Yet, Johnson knows that things can change quickly at the deadline.
“When they feel the need to tell me something, I trust that they’ll tell me,” Johnson told ClutchPoints regarding his communication with Nets management. “Obviously, in my situation, you hope that they give you enough of a heads up and not just something happens, and then 30 minutes later, they call you and say goodbye. But I’ve been traded at 2 AM the night before the deadline. So you’re not in the clear until it’s really over.”
“Every time somebody taps you on the shoulder, you’re preparing yourself for news or anything that can happen. But at the same time, I just try to keep in mind that I’m blessed to be in a position where I get to play the game I love and compete and still just be able to handle what’s in front of me.”
Johnson is a logical target for a contender looking to bolster its rotation for a playoff run.
Cam Johnson opens up on trade speculation as deadline nears
The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter is averaging a career-best 19.4 points per game on 49/42/90 shooting splits. He leads the NBA in effective field goal percentage (61.3) among players attempting at least 12 field goals and seven threes per game.
However, league sources told ClutchPoints that teams approaching Brooklyn have been met with a steep asking price. The Nets are seeking multiple first-round picks and have made it clear they're comfortable holding Johnson through the deadline. The 28-year-old has two years left on his contract at $21.5 million annually, a deal that should age well as the salary cap rises due to the new media rights deal.
With 12 tradable first-round picks and $65 million in projected cap space this summer, both tops in the NBA, the Nets will be in the mix if a star of their liking becomes available. While many have dismissed the idea of Johnson remaining in Brooklyn long-term, he feels he can be an asset for the team's next iteration.
“I don’t really care about what the people have to say. I really care more about what we’re building here,” Johnson told ClutchPoints. “My job is to put 100 percent of my effort into building this program. So whether I leave at the deadline or whether I’m here for the rest of the season or longer than that, my job is to help the coaching staff, my teammates, the young guys, everybody.
I do feel like my personal best days are way ahead of me. I think my timeline is a lot different than most people. I do not think I’ve hit my peak as an NBA player.”
For much of the season, the Nets' incentive to trade Johnson went beyond what they could get back in a deal. After trading Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn is tanking for a top selection in a loaded draft. Johnson's career-best production has been counterproductive to that goal.
The Nets are 3-12 in games he has missed, with the three wins coming in their last three games. When he plays, they're 14-21, a 33-win pace that has them on the outside looking in regarding top lottery odds.
But with a third of the season remaining, the lottery picture has come into focus. A three-game win streak dropped the Nets to the sixth-best odds, one game behind the Toronto Raptors for fifth. They're 3.5 behind the Charlotte Hornets for fourth and five behind New Orleans for third. Catching either appears unlikely.
With the Philadelphia 76ers 3.5 games behind the Nets for seventh, Brooklyn looks increasingly likely to finish fifth or sixth. While trading Johnson this offseason could have led to a different outcome, doing so now is unlikely to have the same impact.
As Johnson admitted, the deadline can be unpredictable in its final hours. But with the Nets unwilling to budge on their asking price thus far, teams will have to increase their offers to pry him away before 3 PM on Thursday.
