Cam Johnson stays with the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year deal worth $108 million

By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Cam Johnson is staying with the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year deal worth about $108 million after quickly becoming one of their top players following his arrival in the trade for Kevin Durant.

Johnson averaged 16.6 points in 25 starts after coming from Phoenix in February. The forward became a full-time starter for the first time in his career earlier in the season with the Suns.

Agent Steven Heumann confirmed the deal, which was first reported by ESPN.

Johnson was a restricted free agent, so the Nets could have matched any offer for him. But general manager Sean Marks had stressed that the team wanted to keep Johnson and didn’t wait to see if other offers would materialize.

Johnson and close friend Mikal Bridges, who came together from Phoenix, helped the Nets finish strong to earn the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference despite dealing All-Stars Durant and Kyrie Irving within days of each other.

Brooklyn was swept by Philadelphia in the first round, with Johnson averaging 18.5 points on nearly 51% shooting.

A first-round pick in the 2019 draft, Johnson helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021 and finished third in the voting for the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021-22. He was then moved into the starting lineup and finished last season averaging a career-best 15.5 points for Phoenix and Brooklyn.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports