Nets re-sign Cam Johnson hours after trading Joe Harris, draft picks to Pistons, sources say
Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson against the Houston Rockets at Barclays Center on March 29, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Cam Johnson was the Nets’ top free-agent priority this offseason. General manager Sean Marks made that clear in exit interviews and after the draft.
The two sides didn’t waste time coming to an agreement as free agency began Friday. Johnson will sign a four-year, $108 million deal to stay in Brooklyn, a league source confirmed to Newsday.
In a move that helped create additional salary for Johnson, the Nets traded Joe Harris and two future draft picks to the Detroit Pistons, multiple league sources confirmed to Newsday.
Johnson’s average annual salary of $27 million makes him the Nets’ second-highest-paid player entering next season behind Ben Simmons. The deal also was higher than some reports that estimated Johnson could receive a $100 million contract.
The cost was worth it to the Nets for a player who became an immediate contributor and starter after arriving with Mikal Bridges from the Phoenix Suns in February in the Kevin Durant trade.
Johnson, 27, averaged 16.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25 games and shot 37.2% from beyond the arc. The four-year veteran upped his scoring to 18.8 points per game during the Nets’ first-round playoff series against the 76ers.
Johnson and Bridges have been teammates and friends since Johnson was drafted by the Suns in 2019. Each now is under contract for the next three seasons.
“I’m excited for the future, and I’m excited to see everybody’s individual and collective growth this summer,” Johnson said in April about the Nets’ potential.
Harris, who will earn $19.9 million in the final year of his contract, was the team’s longest-tenured member. The Nets claimed him on waivers in 2016, and two years later, he became a full-time starter and one of the NBA’s best shooters. He led the league in three-point shooting in 2018-19 (47.4%) and 2020-21 (47.5%) and averaged a career-high 14.5 points in 2019-20.
Harris shot 44% from beyond the arc in seven seasons with the Nets. His career three-point percentage (.437) leads all active players.
Harris played just 14 games in 2021-22 because of a left ankle injury that required two surgeries. He was healthier last season, appearing in 74 games, and finished eighth in the league (42.6%) in three-point shooting. However, he averaged only 7.6 points in 20.6 minutes, his lowest totals with the Nets. He spent most of the season as a reserve and shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the playoffs.
While the Nets said goodbye to a key contributor before and during the arrival of Durant and Kyrie Irving, they’re moving full speed into a new era led by Bridges, Johnson and center Nic Claxton.
Johnson’s size (6-8), shooting and ability to play multiple positions gives the Nets a solid 1-2 punch with Bridges that Marks said he wants to build on as this group develops more chemistry.
“He adds a lot to our group, not just on the court,” Marks said of Johnson in April. “Everybody sees what he delivers on the court, but when you see him in the locker room, it’s certainly refreshing to be around.”
Johnson’s contract and Harris’ trade keep the Nets below the $165.2 million luxury tax for next season. They’ve paid the luxury tax the past three seasons and will avoid incurring financial penalties if they remain below it.
They also now have a $19.9 million trade exception at their disposal and remain eligible to use a $12.4 million midlevel exception to sign a free agent.
Curry, Watanabe move on
Seth Curry and Yuta Watanabe quickly found new teams. Curry will sign a two-year deal with the Mavericks, according to multiple reports, and Watanabe will sign with the Suns.
Curry averaged 9.2 points and shot 40.5% on three-pointers last season. He was part of the trade in 2022 that included Ben Simmons and sent James Harden to the 76ers.
Watanabe averaged 5.6 points and shot 44.4% on three-pointers in 58 games as a reserve with the Nets last season.
With Curry and Harris both gone, the Nets will look to add more three-point shooting in addition to rebounding.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
