By R.L. Bynum
After playing the last 2½ seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, former Carolina forward Cameron Johnson has been traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick.
ESPN’s Shams Charania had the news Monday night, less than two hours after teams could negotiate with free agents. Johnson had been the subject of trade rumors since the Nets’ season concluded.
Johnson played his first 4½ seasons with the Phoenix Suns, who acquired him in a draft-day trade after Minnesota took him as the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. On Feb. 9, 2023, the Suns traded Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and multiple draft picks in exchange for Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren.
According to Synergy Basketball, Johnson was third in the NBA in scoring efficiency among the 99 players with more than 15 possessions per game, behind only Nikola Jokic and Evan Mobley.
In other NBA news involving Tar Heels:
— Two weeks after Orlando dealt guard Cole Anthony to Memphis in a blockbuster deal, it appears that the will eventually sign with another team. Read more about that story here.
— The San Antonio Spurs reportedly have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Harrison Ingram, who played most of his rookie season in the G League. He averaged 12.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 48 games for the Austin Spurs.
— The Indiana Pacers reportedly picked up their $2.94-million team option on Tony Bradley. Bradley averaged 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14 regular-season games for Indiana and appeared in 11 playoff games (playing 23 minutes in the NBA Finals). His best game was a 14-point, 14-rebound performance on April 13 in a 126–118 double-overtime win at Cleveland.
In 57 games last season for Brooklyn, Johnson averaged a career-high 18.8 points per game while shooting 39% from 3-point range. He collected 33 points, 10 rebounds and four 3-pointers on Dec. 19 in a 101–94 victory at Toronto.
In two seasons at Carolina from 2017 to 2019, Johnson averaged 15 points and shot 40.5% from 3-point range, including 45.7% during his senior season.
Porter, who won an NBA title in Denver in 2023, averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season for the Nuggets.
Photo via @BrooklynNets
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