Winners and Losers from Nuggets-Nets Michael Porter Jr., Cam Johnson Trade
The Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets are swapping deadeye-shooting forwards.
As first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, Michael Porter Jr. and Denver's unprotected 2032 first-round pick are headed to Brooklyn in exchange for Cam Johnson. The move has pretty serious implications for both the Nets and Nuggets—immediately and over the long term.
With this in mind, let's sort through the fallout of it all in one of the only ways we know how: by breaking down the biggest winners and losers (so far) from this deal.
Winner: Cam Johnson
1 of 7
Cam Johnson is going from a team toiling away in the early stages of a rebuild that just drafted approximately three to five versions of the same player in the first round to a contender that recently pushed the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in playoffs. That's a big-time W.
It gets even better knowing said contender is headlined by Nikola Jokić, one of the two best players in the world, and its absolute best passer, who elevates the play of everyone and anyone in his orbit.
Johnson's outside touch and off-ball motion will be a divine fit inside Denver's offensive ecosystem. He just drilled 58 percent of his twos and 39 percent of his triples on a Nets team that didn't really play an NBA point guard for basically half of the year. Even if his scoring dips, imagine what Johnson will do alongside Jokić and Jamal Murray.
This isn't just a better basketball haven for Johnson. It is the type of trade that will help him get two-syllable puh-aid in his next contract.
Loser: Michael Porter Jr.
2 of 7
On the one hand, Michael Porter Jr. has often profiled as a player who can do more than the Nuggets ask of him. He will now get to flex more on-ball muscles with a Nets team that has the runway to explore and experiment.
On the other hand, the evidence suggests Porter was in the perfect spot with Denver—which is to say, alongside Nikola Jokić.
Since 2022-23, across both the regular season and playoffs, Porter is averaging 25.8 points per 100 possessions when playing next to the three-time MVP while downing 42.1 percent of his (non-heave) threes, according to PBP Stats. Though MPJ's scoring largely sustains without Jokić, sitting at 25 points per 100 possessions, his three-point clip plunges to around 31.7 percent.
Buckets won't come as easy in Brooklyn, where the team's best passer is...Egor Demin(?). Perhaps this forces Porter to branch out and evolve. It could also go the other way—a risky proposition for someone whose contract (two years, $79.1 million) could apparently only be offloaded by attaching an unprotected first-rounder seven years into the future.
Winner: Josh Kroenke's Wallet...and Denver's Spending Power
3 of 7
Nuggets team governor Josh Kroenke is fresh off a somewhat-awkward press conference in which he (unsuccessfully) tried to hide behind the second apron that he and other billionaires (likely) voted for and also brought up the nightmare scenario, unprompted, of having to trade Nikola Jokić if the Nuggets get too injured and/or expensive. Most interpreted this to mean Denver wouldn't be serving up a piping hot both of unflavored oatmeal this offseason.
So much for that.
The Nuggets are going from paying Michael Porter $79.1 million over the next two seasons to shelling out around $43 million for Cam Johnson—a savings of $36.1 million, before luxury taxes, that comes without sacrificing the quality of play on the court. That's mostly a win, though it comes at the steep cost of an unprotected first-round pick so far into the future it post-dates the Jokić era.
Still, Denver may not be done. It now has enough room beneath the first apron to access most of the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Whether the Nuggets use it will say a great deal about how committed they are to maximizing the rest of Jokić's heyday.
Loser: Other NBA Teams Looking to Offload Money
4 of 7
Along with the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons, the Nets were the only squad entering Jun. 30 with the potential to have cap space. Two of those teams are now off the board.
Memphis is renegotiating-and-extending Jaren Jackson Jr.—and never had that much cap space in the first place. Detroit, meanwhile, is signing Caris LeVert to a two-year deal that suggests they will be operating over the cap.
That leaves the Nets. And really, it was always going to be only them. Emphasis on was. Sort of.
Brooklyn took on more than $17 million with this trade. On the heels of its other business—keeping Ziaire Williams and Day'Ron Sharpe—Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron has them with around $17 million of remaining space, with the potential to nudge that up to $25 million.
Make no mistake, the Nets have enough room to facilitate other deals and salary-slashings. But that flexibility is drying up fast. Anyone looking to do what the Nuggets just did better hurry up.
Winner: Christian Braun
5 of 7
Christian Braun is extension eligible this offseason, and while he never forecasted as a trade candidate, it remained unclear whether the Nuggets would be willing to pay him market value over the long term. Offloading Michael Porter Jr.'s salary now all but guarantees he doesn't have to worry about his future.
Denver is trimming $15.8 million from its 2026-27 cap sheet alone as part of this deal. That won't entirely offset the average annual salary Braun commands in an extension (or during 2026 free agency), but it should ensure the Nuggets don't attempt to get too cute or reckless in negotiations.
If anything, the extra flexibility next season should be a prelude to getting a deal out of the way this offseason.
Rival-team offer sheets in restricted free agency have not been a thing for years. But as a high-end perimeter defender who provides both on- and off-ball utility at the offensive end, Braun is the type of player who will pique the (lucrative) attention of cap-space suitors next summer.
Loser: Denver's Post-Nikola Jokić
6 of 7
Including an unprotected first-rounder seven drafts away in a trade that doesn't net the Nuggets a star is the quintessential "There's no tomorrow, only today!" transaction. It is an enviable stance if you believe this deal boils down to more than money.
Which, it might.
Cam Johnson and Michael Porter Jr. are pretty comparable shooters and scorers. MPJ has the edge in size and rebounding. Johnson is probably the better—or least more consistent—defender.
Those inclined to celebrate this package will point to Porter's durability issues. Somewhat quietly, though, Johnson has never played in 70 regular-season games—not even when adjusting for shortened schedules in 2019-20 and 2020-21. At 29, he is also two years older than the age-27 MPJ.
Again: The deal is justifiable. Especially if the Nuggets aren't done making moves. But they punted on a huge chunk of the future in the spirit of maximizing a chance to win another title with Nikola Jokić, and it remains to be seen whether this is enough of an upgrade.
Either way, Denver could be in for some dark days down the line. That pick will convey following Jokić's age-36 season. This is decidedly a problem for Future Nuggets, but's a potential problem all the same.
The To-Be-Determined List
7 of 7
Nuggets Front Office
Nikola Jokić will be eligible for a three-year, $212.5 million extension this offseason that keeps him on Denver's books through the 2029-30 season. Yours truly has argued that he should not sign it and instead keep pressure on the Nuggets front office to improve the team around them.
Does this trade do that? We'll find out.
Peyton Watson
Like Christian Braun, Watson is extensible eligible this summer. The money Denver saves going from Michael Porter Jr. to Cam Johnson could increase the chances that both get deals.
Conversely, the addition of Johnson could diminish the odds Watson ever becomes more than a top-seven rotation player for the Nuggets and inflate his dispensability.
The Nets' Asset Armory
Shorting the Nuggets' long-term future is a potentially savvy move by the Nets and general manager Sean Marks. Given how old Jokić will be when that 2032 first conveys, Brooklyn may have just bagged a top-tier lottery pick.
This selection could also be underwhelming. Jokić has the type of game that should age well, and Denver could always finagle other moves that keep its relevancy window open.
Are the Nets better off holding this pick and using it when, presumably, they'll both be a lot better and more expensive and in need of cost-controlled contributors? Or should they reroute it in a future blockbuster trade before it loses that mystery-box sheen? Only time will tell.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
.png?w=600 "76ers Stat When Down 0-2 👀")
