Less than a month after the Phoenix Suns drafted Jarrett Culver with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, they traded Culver to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Dario Saric and Cameron Johnson (the No. 11 pick in the draft).
At the time, Saric was the key name as a veteran big man who could shoot from long range and slot into the Suns’ rotation immediately.
As it turned out, Cam Johnson was not to be overlooked.
Part 1: Phoenix Suns NBA re-draft, mulligans for draft day mistakes
A serviceable defender who could spread the floor with his 3-point shot, Johnson went on to form the lovable duo “The Twins” with fellow lanky wing Mikal Bridges in the Valley. He finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting for the 2021-22 season behind Miami’s Tyler Herro and veteran power forward Kevin Love.
That season, Johnson averaged 12.5 points on a career-best 42.5% from 3-point range to go with 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. He was also a key piece on the 2020-21 Suns team who reached the NBA Finals.
The sharpshooting Suns wing was coming into his own, enough so that his trade value in part helped Phoenix acquire future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade package with the Brooklyn Nets.
Johnson put together a career-best season with Brooklyn last year. He averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest while sinking 39% of his 3-point tries and 47.5% of his field goals overall — forcing some Suns fans to wonder what could have been if Phoenix kept its Devin Booker/Bridges/Johnson trio intact.
Read more: As Suns 3-point stats climb, individual record has stood for 20 years
That performance caught the eyes of the Denver Nuggets, who opted to trade Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for Johnson this past summer.
So far, though, Denver may be having buyer’s remorse.
Cam Johnson stats with Nuggets.
As Porter Jr. puts up career numbers in the early going for Brooklyn, Johnson has really struggled in his new situation.
Through his first 11 games played with the Nuggets (all starts), Johnson is averaging just 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He’s shooting a woeful 21.1% from beyond the arc — by far a career worst. In fact, he nearly has as many turnovers (six) as 3-pointers made (eight) early in the season.
Injuries have played a role in Johnson’s rough start in the Mile High City. He suffered a bicep injury in the first quarter of Denver’s Nov. 12 game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Prior to that, he was nursing a shoulder problem.
Denver as a team hasn’t been brought down by Johnson’s early struggles, as they sit 10-2 overall with a seven-game winning streak at the time of writing. That 10-2 record slots them No. 2 in the Western Conference behind only the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
It remains too early to judge Johnson’s Nuggets tenure given the injury concerns and small sample size. However, getting Johnson healthy will no doubt be a priority for the Nuggets moving forward. He simply hasn’t been the same talent he was in Phoenix and Brooklyn.
If Denver is going to challenge OKC for Western Conference supremacy, even a regression to Johnson’s Suns-era stats would be welcome.