{"id":295583,"date":"2025-11-19T20:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295583\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:48:16","slug":"cameron-johnson-confident-hell-find-his-place-with-denver-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295583\/","title":{"rendered":"Cameron Johnson confident he’ll find his place with Denver Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson<\/a> has experienced the highest of highs playing in the NBA Finals. The seven-year NBA veteran also has encountered the low life, playing parts of three seasons for the struggling Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

Now that Johnson is back on the winning side of the NBA, he is trying his best to fit in with a renewed appreciation for winning in his latest chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what they have accomplished here and I\u2019m just trying to acclimate myself as soon as possible,\u201d Johnson told Andscape. \u201cIt\u2019s an exciting opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nuggets acquired Johnson on July 8 from the Nets in exchange for forward Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. Denver made the surprising move after a second-round playoff exit to stay under the luxury tax by dealing Porter. In Johnson, the Nuggets acquired a 6-foot-8 veteran forward known for his 3-point shooting, solid scoring and versatile defensive skills.<\/p>\n

In line with the Nuggets\u2019 title aspirations, Johnson has previous Finals experience, playing a key reserve role for the Phoenix Suns during the 2021 NBA Finals. After an emotional second-round playoff exit in 2022, the Suns traded Johnson and other key players, and they also fired head coach Monty Williams. On Feb. 9, 2023, the Suns made a blockbuster four-team trade to get Kevin Durant from the Nets in exchange for forward Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and four first-round draft picks.<\/p>\n

Johnson, 29, acknowledged that he wonders \u201call the time\u201d if his old Suns team of himself, Bridges, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul could have returned to the NBA Finals if the franchise kept them together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a fun group that we really enjoyed playing together and accomplished some things,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAnd we still had more on the horizon. We were close and our system felt developed in place to keep taking steps. We had that rough playoff for us and then some injuries. But I felt like if we had just got back on track [we would be OK] and then the trade comes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe circumstances around it is life. It\u2019s part of the game. And you\u2019ve just got to keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron Johnson (right) averaged career-highs of 18.8 points and 3.4 assists in 57 games with Brooklyn last season.<\/p>\n

The Nets rewarded Johnson with a four-year, $108 million contract in the summer of 2023 after averaging 16.6 points in 25 games. Winning didn\u2019t follow those riches as Brooklyn won 26 games last season and 32 the season before. Making matters more challenging for Johnson was the Nets trading his good friend Bridges across town to the New York Knicks on July 6, 2024, for five first-round picks and forward Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic, who has since retired, never played for the Nets due to injuries.<\/p>\n

Through the Nets\u2019 struggles, Johnson never asked for a trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my M.O. I\u2019m not a \u2018grass is greener\u2019 person,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m more a \u2018water where you are\u2019 person. When I got traded to Brooklyn, we were a playoff team. I hated the idea of trying to weasel my way out after being on a team and then being traded and going south. So, I was there to stick it out in terms of trying to build culture and an identity and a program. And I just kind of took it day by day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my number was called to get traded I was ready to go. But otherwise, no, I never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruce Brown returns to his best fit with Denver Nuggets \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Johnson said while he was at a Steve Nash charity soccer event in Brooklyn the day before the 2025 NBA draft in June, he was expecting to be with the Nets during the 2025-26 season with hopes of roster improvements. The Nets, however, traded him days later to Denver to play alongside three-time NBA MVP center Nikola Jokic. Johnson averaged career-highs of 18.8 points and 3.4 assists in 57 games with Brooklyn last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a realization that there was going to be a lot of changes in life,\u201d said Johnson of the trade.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges for Johnson is being viewed as the guy replacing the offensively gifted Porter Jr., who was a member of the Nuggets\u2019 starting five during their NBA championship in 2024. Porter Jr. averaged 18.2 points alongside Jokic and star shooting guard Jamal Murray last season.<\/p>\n

Johnson, however, refuses to view his addition to Denver as filling Porter Jr.\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to be myself and do what I do,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey give me an opportunity to do that. That\u2019s just on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson didn\u2019t get off to a great start with the Nuggets offensively, while Porter Jr. has become the still-struggling Nets\u2019 top scorer.<\/p>\n

In 12 games, Johnson is averaging just 8.2 points per game on 38.9% percent from the field (28.9% from 3-point range). Nuggets head coach David Adelman said after a 122-108 win at Sacramento on Nov. 11 that he was going with whatever lineup down the stretch that works, lineups that oftentimes had not included Johnson. Despite his offensive struggles, however, Johnson kept his starting position.<\/p>\n

After scoring five points at Sacramento, a subdued Johnson talked about trying to overcome his early season struggles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than hard. It\u2019s impossible. It\u2019s part of the game. I\u2019ve been playing a long time,\u201d said Johnson, who was selected from the University of North Carolina with the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by Minnesota and then immediately traded to Phoenix. \u201cBut I think sometimes you got to be frustrated because you care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a surprising 130-127 home loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday, Johnson was a bright spot. He scored a season-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and five made 3-pointers. Johnson also played a season-high 37 minutes.<\/p>\n

Adelman and Murray expressed confidence in Johnson after the loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has been saying, \u2018What is going on with Cam?\u2019 \u201d Adelman said. \u201cWell, it\u2019s going to happen. Cam is going to make shots. That is the bottom line. That is why we\u2019ve been patient with this. That was really good to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is always a silver lining in these games in a long season. He was very confident shooting the ball. \u2026 Hopefully, this is kind of a launching pad for Cam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CameronAs a 3-point threat and defensive menace, Cameron Johnson is just what the Denver Nuggets need.<\/p>\n

Bart Young\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Said Murray: \u201cI\u2019m not worried about Cam. Making shots is the least of the worries. If it was all the other stuff, there was something to talk about. Whether he makes or misses, that\u2019s a part of the game. We all do that. He had a rough start, but good for him to see the ball go in. But no worries for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said he has a \u201cmuch deeper appreciation\u201d as a member of the Nuggets and expects to make a bigger impact as he settles in with his new team. The Nuggets are often viewed as the Western Conference\u2019s biggest challenger to the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and Johnson being the 3-point threat and defensive menace he is capable of being could play a big role in that challenge.<\/p>\n

The Bulls\u2019 game was an example of what the Nuggets\u2019 newcomer can bring to Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got guys who have been playing together for a long time, and I\u2019m just trying to earn my space with what is going on,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSometimes it takes time. But you can\u2019t let it take you down. We will get there. We will get the level up. I\u2019ll get mine up. We will figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson has experienced the highest of highs playing in the NBA Finals. The seven-year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-295583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}