Cam Johnson Re-Signs With Brooklyn: How Quickly Can the Nets Rebound?

After the mid-season trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving during the 2022-23 campaign, the Brooklyn Nets are looking to continue their rebuild, re-signing Cameron Johnson -- one of the key pieces from the KD trade -- to a four-year, $108 million contract.

Restricted free agent F Cam Johnson has agreed on a four-year, $108 million deal to stay with the Brooklyn Nets, his agent Steven Heumann of @CAA_Basketball tells ESPN. Nets keep a young cornerstone acquired in deadline deal with Suns.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023

With the Durant-Kyrie era officially over, the Nets are ready to turn the page and start fresh in 2023-24.

Can Johnson Take the Next Step?

Johnson, the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, arrived in Brooklyn from Phoenix as part of the Suns' trade for Durant. After his arrival, Johnson started all 25 games he played for Brooklyn. He averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game for the Nets, setting new career highs in all three categories.

Those increases were primarily due to Johnson playing more minutes per game in Brooklyn (30.8) than he had in any other season in his four-year career. On a per 36-minute basis, Johnson saw a small decrease in his production following his move to Brooklyn. His most notable statistical decrease came in three-point percentage -- from 45.5% to 37.2%.

After inking Johnson to a four-year extension, the Nets will be hoping he can take the next step as a core part of their rebuild.

Betting Odds Impact

The Nets' move to re-sign Johnson, combined with other happenings in free agency, has moved the needle in the betting market. Before free agency, Brooklyn was +12000 to win it all, per the NBA Finals odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Now they're listed at +10000, which ties them with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors for the 18th-best odds to win the title.

That's a small-but-noticeable increase from before free agency -- when the Nets' +12000 odds were tied for 20th-best with the Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls. Now, their odds are ahead of both of those teams.

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