The Brooklyn Nets made one of the most shocking moves in 2025 NBA Free-agency by trading forward Cam Johnson to the Denver Nuggets for forward Michael Porter Jr. and Denver’s 2032 unprotected first-round pick. Brooklyn had been rumored to make some huge moves given their amount of draft capital and cap space and they surely paid off on that prediction.
Johnson had been the subject of trade rumors since last offseason when the Nets traded guard Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for multiple first-round picks. Brooklyn decided to keep Johnson past the trade deadline for the 2024-25 season most likely because they did not get the kind of offers they were expecting for Johnson, who was having the best season of his career.
Despite how well Johnson played, the Nets went on to finish the season with a 26-56 record and now, they have used Johnson to get presumably what they thought Johnson was worth in Johnson and a distant first-round pick. With Brooklyn making one of the most notable moves in free-agency as of this writing, here is how the Nets graded for the move:
The Trade
Nets receive: F Michael Porter Jr. and unprotected 2032 first-round pick
Nuggets receive: F Cam Johnson
Nets Side Of The Deal
The Nets gave up Johnson at arguably the best form he will be for the rest of his career, but getting Porter and a first-round pick that could be extremely valuable is intriguing. Johnson is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 39.0% from three-point land.
While Johnson is regarded around the league as just a shooter, he showed plenty of growth in his ability to create shots off the dribble and making plays under first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez. Johnson came to Brooklyn as just a 3-and-D kind of player, but he showed during his 2.5 seasons with the Nets that he had the ability to grow his game beyond his archetype.
When it comes to Porter, he is coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per contest while shooting 50.4% from the floor and 39.5% from deep. While Porter and Johnson have different styles of play, the former Missouri Tiger seems to have the edge on Johnson when it comes to pure scoring ability.
Johnson had 21 instances in 57 appearances in which he scored at least 20 points (36.8% of the time) while Porter had 30 instances of pulling off the same feat in 77 games (38.9%). One could argue that if Johnson had played more games, he would have been able to show his scoring more often, especially for a Brooklyn team that needed every point.
However, one could also argue that Porter could have scored 20 points in a game more often if he wasn’t playing next to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Only time will tell what is true and in Brooklyn, Porter will likely be one of the leaders of the team along with Nic Claxton and potentially whichever rookie rises to the occasion sooner than expected.
Final Grade
What makes this trade interesting is that Johnson and Porter have similar production metrics from last season when both were in arguably different situations and surrounded by different talent. The Nets made a savvy move by using the fact that Porter has two years and $79 million left on his contract (Johnson has two years and $44 million left) to pry a future first-round pick out of a Nuggets team that could be rebuilding by the time 2032 comes around.
Grade: B