Wait a minute: Players can improve if given a chance? Who knew?
Every NBA season produces surprises which is one of a number of reasons why we pay so little attention to preseason rankings anymore. Teams and players take pride in turning from being dissed to being respected. And yeah, some coaching staffs are smarter in figuring out how to take advantage of a players’ skillsets.
To wit: Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps look at the season’s best and worst surprises of the NBA season, now approaching the one-half mark, in an ESPN+ feature. Among the eight positives: the Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Johnson who’s having a career year despite some suggestions that he was overrated and overpaid. The article notes not just his big numbers but how much Jordi Fernandez and staff have gotten out of the 28-year-old.
While Brooklyn is beginning its rebuild, Johnson is establishing himself as one of the key players to watch in this year’s trade market. His contract, at $22.5 million this season, just over $20 million next year and $22.5 million in 2026-27, is attractive, particularly within the CBA constraints teams are working under this year.
More importantly, though, is that he’s averaging career highs across the stat sheet, including points (19.6), 3-point shooting (44%) and assists (3.0). A big wing with these skills garners considerable interest around the league.
“He has good synergy with [coach Jordi Fernandez] and he’s really turned him loose,” a scout said.
“He’s playing with no pressure on a bad team,” an executive said. “But he’s not young, and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to fully take advantage of this opportunity.”
Indeed, his current shooting splits — 49.6/43.6/89.5 — are close to the magical 50/40/90 number achieved only 14 times in NBA history. His career 3-point percentage of 39.8% is close to another milestone. Only 50 players in NBA history have shot 40.0% from deep over their careers.
Specifically, his contract was front-loaded and by the time it expires in 2027, it’ll represent only 10.89% of the salary cap, down from 14.80% last year, the first year of his four-year deal. In raw terms, he will make the same amount in his final year, 2026-27, that he makes this: $22.5 million which with incentives could jump to $27.0 million.
All that, of course, makes Johnson an alluring trade target if a team can find a way to satisfy Sean Marks demands. There’s less than a month left to figure that out.
In addition to Johnson, some of the others pinpointed by Windhorst and Bontemps include the Knicks Karl-Anthony Towns, the Hawks Dyson Daniels, James Harden, Lonzo Ball, Cade Cunningham and Victor Wembanyama.