The Denver Nuggets came into the 2025 offseason without many hopes of making big changes to their roster unless they could find a taker for Michael Porter Jr and his sizable contract. On Monday, they did just that by sending Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Cam Johnson, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Nuggets’ desire to turn Porter Jr. into a better two-way fit for the roster was well known, but no one was quite sure if they’d find a team willing to take on the remaining $79 million on his deal. However, the Nets were willing to do so and Johnson seems to be a phenomenal fit for the Nuggets. Prior to being traded to Brooklyn, Johnson excelled in his time in Phoenix playing what figures to be a similar role to what he’ll be asked to do in Denver.
Johnson averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on 48/39/89 shooting splits last season, and will give the Nuggets the kind of 3-and-D wing they crave. Johnson’s time in Brooklyn also gave him a bit more practice as an on-ball creator, but with Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, that will be a secondary concern to being a sharpshooter to help space the floor around those two stars.
The Nets are still in asset acquisition mode, so they’re taking a swing on Porter Jr. in hopes that perhaps he can flourish in a position where he can be a main option offensively, rather than a tertiary one in Denver where he was behind Jokić and Murray in the pecking order. On top of that, they add a 2032 first round pick that could be extremely valuable, as that will be after Jokić’s prime has ended (he’ll be 37 then) and there are no guarantees the Nuggets will move smoothly into the back end of his career.