Cam Johnson gets real on trade rumors after remaining with Nets through deadline

This year’s trade deadline shook the NBA. However, all was quiet on the Brooklyn Nets front. General Manager Sean Marks stood pat, holding Cam Johnson, who several league executives named the most likely impact player to be dealt before Feb. 6.

With the Nets tanking for a top draft selection, Johnson had been a mainstay in trade rumors, linked to the Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies, amongst other teams. However, league sources told ClutchPoints that Brooklyn was not actively shopping the veteran wing, who has two years left on his contract.

Teams that reached out were met with a steep asking price. And when the clock struck 3 PM on Thursday, Johnson remained a Net.

“When the stuff happened a couple of years ago, it was kinda weird, but it was Phoenix and Brooklyn. This one was a little different because I heard a lot of different stuff,” Johnson said of the trade rumors. “Every three days, somebody is coming to me with something completely different. I didn’t wanna give my energy to any of those situations because you’re just setting yourself up for whatever. So it was a completely different experience for me. I think that the rumors have been moving quickly since Mikal [Bridges] got traded. And maybe even before or around then.

Every time my agent called me over the summer, it was like, is something going down? I don’t know. It’s kinda been like that for a long time, and you kinda just deal with it. Straight up. It is what it is. It ain’t going nowhere. Except now, at least there’s gonna be a little cushion where it’s gonna calm down, and then, who knows? Maybe it picks up again.”

Johnson is having a career-best season for the rebuilding Nets. The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter has been among the NBA’s most efficient scorers, averaging 19.3 points per game on 49/42/90 shooting splits. He leads the league in effective field goal percentage among players attempting at least 12 field goals and seven threes per game.

While trading him in the summer or earlier this year could have bolstered Brooklyn’s tank, the draft lottery landscape has taken shape with a third of the season remaining. Brooklyn looks increasingly likely to finish with the fifth or sixth-best odds. With teams unwilling to meet his asking price, Marks had no urgency to move Johnson.