7 Players the Phoenix Suns gave up on too soon
By Seth Quinn
2. Cameron Johnson
As the lesser piece of the Kevin Durant trade, Cameron Johnson was sort of an afterthought when he was shipped over to the Brooklyn Nets. However, both to the Suns and fans, that shouldn’t be the case.
Back in the 2019 draft, Cam Johnson was selected 11th overall, which was considered a reach at the time, but turned out to be a good pick. Before being traded to the Nets, Johnson was averaging 14 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. Then he was shipped to the Nets, where he got more opportunities and increased his scoring to nearly 17 points a game.
While obviously trading for Kevin Durant seems like a no-brainer on paper, the Suns gutted their depth by trading Cam Johnson along with fellow starter Mikal Bridges to get Durant. Phoenix then proceeded to finish 4th in the west and lose in the second round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets in six games.
Trading for Durant was a win-now move, meaning if the team can’t put together a championship-caliber roster next season, fans could look back on this trade and deem it a swing and a miss for the Suns. That’s before taking into account the type of player Cam Johnson could develop into heading toward his 30s.