In what was viewed as a down year — slogging through adductor, ankle, calf, leg and shoulder injuries — Johnson still averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 58 games. He shot 39.1 percent from deep, just off his 39.2 career mark. His size (6-foot-8), age (28) and shooting ability combine to make Johnson valuable. Only 10 NBA players 6-7 or taller averaged more than his 2.4 made 3-pointers last season. While the Kings, Magic and Lakers are interested, one recent report claimed the Spurs, Raptors or Warriors could be a “dark horse.”
Source: New York Post
Source: New York Post
More on this storyline
“It’s the reality of pro sports, so I think you have to be upfront and honest with it. And I think everybody — not only on this team but, I would say, around the league — really realizes: Look, it’s pro sports. I’ve been in that locker room. I understand what it looks like and what it seems like and you do have to move on and so forth. “But again, you want to be upfront, honest. And ultimately the goal for us is to find continuity, right? Whether that’s through a group of young guys building and growing here together, adding pieces in free agency when we have the opportunity to do so or trading for guys, which we can do. So, the flexibility for us is pretty exciting and intriguing moving forward.” -via New York Post / July 23, 2024
While Johnson is entering the second year of a four-year, $94.5 million extension, it de-escalates after next season to just 13.91 percent and 13.85 percent of the salary cap in the final two years, making it team-friendly. “I’ll just let whatever happens, happens. Obviously, I think we have a pretty good group in Brooklyn that we can really start to grow something,” Johnson said. “If I’m staying in Brooklyn, then I’m all-in, excited to play, excited to grow this group, and that’s where my head’s at right now. -via New York Post / July 23, 2024
The day the Nets traded Johnson’s longtime friend Mikal Bridges and signaled their intent to tank, that put veterans such as Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons and Bojan Bogdanovic on the trade block. But the latter trio are all playing on expiring deals, so they could be kept to preserve 2025 cap space. Moving Johnson and Finney-Smith seems logical, with the Johnson projected to fetch more in return. “We’ve had some conversations with all the vets on the team because it does weigh on people,” Marks said last week. “And I don’t try to sort of breeze over that because it’s a family, and you want to say, ‘Hey, this is a close-knit group.’ It’s a close locker room in there, and when one of their own leaves, it hits home. -via New York Post / July 23, 2024