Report: Nuggets got a bargain on Cam Johnson by waiting until the offseason

The Denver Nuggets shocked the NBA world on Monday night by breaking up their core four and trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets. Despite the Nuggets’ brass saying just last week that they didn’t want to trade any big-players, the right opportunity came across their desk, paving the way for the chance to put some new juice in the roster alongside Nikola Jokic.

The right opportunity, sending Porter and a first-round pick to Brooklyn in return for Cam Johnson, only happened because Denver was patient in finding a trade partner to take on Porter’s contract that has plagued the Nuggets the last two years. Johnson’s value was thought to be much higher at the trade deadline, but tanked at the end of the season.

Some pundits said Nets return for CamJ was underwhelming considering Nets had put a much higher value on him at deadline – two firsts – than they wound up with in Monday’s deal. One league source sarcastically noted, “Strange. Last year Cam Johnson could net 7 first round picks.”

— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) July 1, 2025

If Johnson’s value was any higher than what the Nuggets got him for on Monday, the trade likely would not have been possible because that 2032 pick was the only first-rounder that Denver had available to use as an asset. The Nets have squeezed out much more value from role players in the past, like when they got five first-rounders in the Mikal Bridges deal with the Knicks last summer, but didn’t have the same market for Johnson.

The 2032 unprotected first Denver is sending to Brooklyn was their lone first available.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 30, 2025

At the end of the day, the Nuggets are the team that benefitted by waiting. They didn’t have many assets to work with when free agency kicked off at 4:00 p.m. Monday, but patience and the ability to prioritize winning over friendships netted them a new dynamic scorer to put next to Jokic while giving up minimal draft capital. Now, they still have the assets and cap space to target one more player in the trade market if they wish, possibly Houston’s Cam Whitmore, a player who would be a great fit off the bench for Denver.

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