Cam Johnson got past the trade deadline and that was a good thing for him … and his team.
Cam Johnson is the team leader on and off the court this season for the Brooklyn Nets. Everyone says it. It’s not really debatable. D’Angelo Russell may be a week older and may have been an all-star six years ago, but the leadership laurels have to go to CamJ.
He’s the team’s leading scorer at 18.9 points, a career-high, and is also shooting 48/40/89, all but the middle number tops in his six-year career. He’s rounded out his game, no longer limited to catch-and-shoot. If he finishes the season with a effective shooting percentage about 60%, which highly likely, he’ll get a $563,000 bonus.
Moreover, he has embraced the role of leader.
Ziaire Williams, who’s having his best career year across the board, in points (10.1,) rebounds (4.8) and 3-point percentage (34.1), will tell you than. Indeed, as he explained to the New York Times’ Jared Weiss, Johnson’s help has been a big help for his career and it’s extended from life to shooting form.
The 23-year-old sits next to Johnson on the team plane to talk about life from takeoff to touchdown.
Williams credits his shooting improvement to studying how Johnson holds his follow-through and positions his guide hand during the shooting drills they run together. But more importantly, Johnson is helping Williams learn how to get comfortable with his place in the NBA.
“(Johnson is) definitely one of those guys who just stays where their feet are,” Williams told Weiss. “He doesn’t worry about where he could be or where he’s going or whatever. You know, it’s the NBA, gotta just expect the unexpected. But just be where we are and enjoy the process and enjoy the moment.”
So why was C.J. worried, perhaps even obsessed about being traded? The Brooklyn Nets of course are rebuilding and no one, at least according to the pundits, was safe, a point made clear the final two weeks of December, more than a month before the trade deadline, when Sean Marks & co. dealt Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith, also seen as leaders, to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. The return on the two expiring contracts was relatively small: three second rounders in each trade, plus the injured DeAnthony Melton, Russell and Maxwell Lewis.
“I felt like our formula was pretty good early, and then the trades happen. (It) shakes us up a little bit. It did put that natural (question of) like, ‘Oh, who’s next?’ ” he said. “There’s only a couple candidates who really could likely be next. And when two trades happen pretty quickly, it’s like, ‘OK, maybe they’re really just in a sale mode.’ ”
Johnson knows what it’s like, of course. He was part of the February 2023 deadline deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix for him, Mikal Bridges and a slew of picks, something he talked about with Shams Charania earlier this week on Young Man and the Three.
But, this time, it turned out the concern was overwrought. Nets officials kept telling anyone who asked in any venue that they were in receive mode, taking calls not making them. Indeed, the night before the trade deadline, Sean Marks and B.J. Johnson were not huddled over computer screens in their offices at HSS Training Center in Brooklyn but at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J. watching Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Not a cell phone in sight.
“With Cam, there was a lot of interest in him just as there was with a lot of our guys but we like Cam and we think Cam fits multiple builds that we are doing,” Marks said post-deadline. “He’s a voice of reason. He’s well-respected within that locker room. He’s a pro’s pro. So if people can learn from somebody, they learn from Cam Johnson. That’s a great guy to pick up habits from.”
Brooklyn also reportedly wanted more than the market could bear, described by one reporter as two first-round picks and “stuff.”
As Weiss noted, Johnson had something else going for him. He likes it in Brooklyn, likes what the Nets are doing and likes the head coach, Jordi Fernandez.
While many players on rebuilding teams would jump at the chance to join a winning program, Johnson was happy in Brooklyn. The 29-year-old wasn’t pining to get out the door, even in his prime.
“I do appreciate maybe the value that they associated with having me on the team versus getting rid of me,” he said. “And it’s the same thing if you do get traded, right?”
There’s been no reporting on what imput Fernandez might have had in trade discussions, but he made it clear to Weiss and others how much he appreciates Johnson.
“In his late 20s, he’s our grown-up. Extremely professional, super mature,” Fernandez said. “He’s a great example for everybody else, especially with what we’re trying to establish.”
This part of the season, though, is only a respite from trade rumors. Marks makes most of his big moves around the time of the Draft. In eight of his nine years as Nets GM, Marks has made a deal, both big and small, within 48 hours of the deadline. And there’s no shortage of rumors that he’s going to “clean house” come June.
Johnson, no matter what happens, likes where he’s at, figuratively and literally.
“I like to think that this season has offered me a lot of opportunities to grow as a player, as a leader, as a teammate, and see a lot of things in this league to try to take steps further,” Johnson said. “And so as the organization feels the same way, I appreciate that.”