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The Brooklyn Nets made some moves this offseason as they try to make themselves as competitive as possible for the near future. With the Nets beginning summer league play on Friday, vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:30pm EDT on NBA TV, it’s time to look back at Brooklyn re-signing forward Cam Johnson and give a grade for that move.
On June 30, there were multiple reports that the Nets and Johnson agreed on a four-year, $108 million contract. There was further reporting by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Johnson’s contract can reach up to $108 million with full bonus incentives, according to what sources told him. This indicates that Johnson’s contract has a base annual figure of less than $27 million per season and that makes the contract seem better than the initial reports would indicate.
Cam Johnson’s four-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets can reach up to $108 million with full bonus incentives, league sources told @hoopshype. https://t.co/HeGvNpi0sl
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 30, 2023
With that being said, Brooklyn did what they set out to do with this re-signing. Johnson, a restricted free-agent, was expected to receive offer sheets from teams like the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Indiana Pacers due to his unique combination of size and scoring ability as somewhat of a small forward-power forward hybrid. The Nets had more of a chance to bring Johnson back to Brooklyn because they had the advantage of matching any offer sheet that he received.
Johnson, the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was expected to receive an offer sheet from anywhere between $20 million per season and $25 million annually when the offseason first began. There were also reports that with this fact being known throughout the league, Brooklyn was planning to match any “realistic” offer sheet given to Johnson so since his new contract appears to be within that range, the Nets know that they are paying what they should to have Johnson on the team.
Not only did Brooklyn bring back Johnson, who the team received as part of the Kevin Durant trade at the deadline last season, but they also did what promising wing Mikal Bridges urged them to do this offseason. At this moment, Bridges and Johnson are big parts of the organization’s future so keeping both of those guys happy is paramount for the success of the franchise moving forward.
Grade: B+
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