Denver Nuggets Trade Michael Porter Jr. and Pick to Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson: Key Points
The Denver Nuggets have agreed to trade Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson. This move aims to benefit both teams strategically and financially. Johnson's skills and salary make him a valuable addition to the Nuggets' roster.

The Denver Nuggets are trading Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson, team sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. ESPN was the first to report news of the trade.
Porter Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for Denver last season and was a part of the franchise’s first title run in 2023. Johnson, meanwhile, averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in just 57 games after dealing with a nagging ankle injury during the 2024-25 campaign.
For Brooklyn, the trade would convert $20 million in cap space into an unprotected future first-round pick at a moment when the post-championship Nuggets are likely at their nadir. The Nets may also be able to cash in on the back end of this deal by moving Porter Jr. next year, the final year of his deal, for unwanted salary and another draft pick.
Brooklyn still has approximately $24 million in easily accessible cap space (including dropping cap holds and non-guaranteed contracts) and will likely remain a potential dumping ground for other salary moves.
An ideal rebuilding trade for Nets
This is how you use your cap space in today’s NBA. The Nets having Porter on their rebuilding roster is a perfect fit. He’s going to be a scorer to help dazzle fans on nights of bad team play. This Nets team is not trying to win basketball games. Brooklyn is just accumulating assets and trying to maximize its best chance at getting a superstar via the NBA draft lottery in the next two years. Now, the Nets will also have an unprotected 2032 first-round pick from Denver thanks to this trade.
The Nets don’t add any future money from this deal beyond how Johnson’s contract impacted them, so they’re just eating up some of their existing cap space. And they’re hoping that another pick in their treasure chest of draft assets will yield players or leverage in a future trade. — Zach Harper
Why Cam Johnson fits Nuggets’ roster perfectly
The trade is a massive win for the Nuggets from a roster-building standpoint. Porter was owed $78 million over the next two seasons, and Johnson is due $44 million in that same timeframe. For $17 million less per season, Johnson is a similar on-court fit to Porter. This deal takes the Nuggets far away from the dreaded second apron and now gives them a lot of breathing room for fleshing out what was a top-heavy roster in the last two seasons.
Johnson is one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters and gives the Nuggets plenty of versatility at either forward position. He’s a career 39.2 percent 3-point shooter on more than 2,000 attempts. The 29-year-old is as consistent and reliable as it gets when it comes to being an effective off-ball shooter.
He’s been this kind of shooter playing on a Brooklyn team that didn’t have stars to create gravity for him, leaving him to provide that gravity for the team.
That won’t be the case with Denver. Why? He’s on Nikola Jokić’s team now. — Zach Harper
(Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
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