As the Brooklyn Nets embark on a rebuilding campaign during the 2024-2025 season it makes sense to take stock of the roster and take a look at what each player brings to the table and what skills the Nets will be looking for them to develop over the coming year. Today, the player we’re focusing on is forward Cameron Johnson, who is perhaps the Nets best-remaining trade chip following the Mikal Bridges trade.
What does Cameron Johnson bring to the table?
First and foremost, the 28-year-old is a near-elite shooter from beyond the arc. For his career, he’s shot 39.2% from downtown and posted a nearly identical mark last season, connecting on 39.1% of his triples on 6.1 attempts per game. The vast majority of his success from three-point range rests on his ability to hit shots off the catch, as he shot 42.1% last year on catch-and-shoot threes while hitting just 24.2% of his pull-up three attempts.
Stellar shooting combined with his long 6-8 frame and 6-10 wingspan, which allow him to be an adequate defender, fit him squarely into the very valuable three-and-D wing role player archetype. Contending teams can never get enough of players who can support stars by hitting open threes off the catch and contributing on the defensive end, which is exactly where Johnson’s skills lie and what makes him a potentially valuable trade piece.
Where can Johnson improve?
Despite his exceptional shooting, Johnson’s 2023-2024 campaign was somewhat of a disappointment after signing a 4-year $108 million contract extension the previous offseason. After posting a career-best 16.6 points per game with the Nets after being traded to the team in the Kevin Durant trade, Johnson posted just 13.4 points per game last season.
In 22 post-All-Star break games, which encompasses all but three of his games played with the Nets in 2022-2023 Johnson was much more aggressive and effective attacking the basket on close-outs, attempting 14% of his field goals off of two dribbles and 15.5% of his field goals off 3-6 dribbles while converting 62.2% and 48.8% of those opportunities respectively. Last season those numbers fell, with him attempting a shot just 9.5% of the time off two dribbles with a 55.2% field goal percentage, and 13.8% frequency on 3-6 dribbles with a 44.0% field goal percentage.
On the defensive end, Johnson isn’t as stout as one might think at first glance. He lacks the top-end agility and lateral quickness to sufficiently defend smaller guards, and his skinny frame is exposed by stronger forwards. While he’s an intelligent defender, and that matters, his versatility is limited. He’ll have to maximize his positioning and knowledge of defensive schemes to maintain his reputation as an above-average defender.
Simply put, Johnson has to get back to finding ways to score beyond just the spot up three, while maximizing his abilities on defense and limiting his liabilities.
Cameron Johnson’s projected 2024-2025 role
While many fans want to see the young players play at all costs, and there are many young forwards on the roster, Johnson will likely earn the starting small forward spot. The reason for this is two-fold, the Nets will want to have some veteran leadership and skill to shepherd along the youth, while also giving Johnson the opportunity to play well to maximize his trade value at the deadline.
With that said, Johnson’s had consistent minor injuries that have held him out of games throughout his career, only playing 60+ games in a season twice out of five seasons, and never more than 66 games in a single season. That alone will provide opportunities for younger players to get some run. Last season, Johnson averaged 27.6 minutes per game which will likely go down a touch toward the 25-minute mark as Brooklyn tries to mix in the younger forwards into the rotation.
It would be a surprise to see Johnson remain on the roster past the trade deadline, but if he does, look for his role to diminish down the home stretch as that means he didn’t play well enough to garner significant trade interest, and the Nets will prioritize giving those minutes to the developmental forwards on this roster.