The 2022-23 season was an interesting one for the Brooklyn Nets. In a season that started with championship expectations, the Nets’ season ended with just trying to hold on to a playoff spot after trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end the superstar experiment once and for all.
At one point, Brooklyn was regarded as one of the main contenders in the Eastern Conference with Durant and Irving leading the way. Once the trade deadline came and went, the Nets had a completely different team led by budding star wing Mikal Bridges.
Not to mention, Brooklyn went through a coaching change after Steve Nash was fired following a 2-5 start to this season. Jacque Vaughn is now the head man of a team that is currently in flux thanks to the trades of Durant and Irving. While the offseason is still fresh, it’s a good time to review all of the Nets who played this season starting with: wing Cam Johnson.
(All stats are courtesy of basketball-reference.com)
Traditional stats (W/Nets):
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16.6 PPG
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4.8 RPG
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2.1 APG
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1.4 SPG
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46.8% field-goal shooting
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37.2% three-point shooting
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85.1% free-throw shooting
Advanced stats:
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16.9 PER
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61% true-shooting
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21.1% usage rate
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2.1 win shares
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2.0 BPM
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0.8 VORP
2022-23 statistical ranks (W/Nets):
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Tied for 63rd in PPG
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Tied for 85th in RPG
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Tied for 16th in SPG
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Tied for 72nd in FG%
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Tied for 79th in 3FG%
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Tied for 38th in FT%
Contract:
Takeaways:
Johnson came to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant trade and showed that he was more than just a 3-and-D type of wing. While Johnson’s three-point shooting fell off from the high levels that he was shooting with the Phoenix Suns (45.5% with Phoenix, 37.2% with Brooklyn), he displayed his ability to be an offensive threat from all three levels of the court.
Johnson had more of an offensive role with the Nets (12.0 shots per game) than he did wit the Suns (10.2), but he proved that he was able to handle the increased workload without sacrificing overall shooting efficiency. He got to the free-throw line more often in Brooklyn (3.5 free-throw attempts per game) than he did in Phoenix (1.9) and that was due to his improved ability to handle the basketball well enough to create shots for himself and for his teammates.
Johnson’s defensive performance in Brooklyn was similar to his defensive performance in Phoenix and that was with being asked to do more on the offensive end of the floor. He had to guard one of the better perimeter players on the opposing team while having to be the 2nd/3rd scoring option and that showed that Johnson could be part of the team’s core moving forward.
Johnson is a restricted free-agent this summer and while he is expected to command a contract of $20 million annually, the way he played in Brooklyn proved that he is worth that investment. With his physical profile (6’8″, 210 LBS) combined with his ability to score off the dribble along with his three-point proficiency, Johnson could be a matchup nightmare for years to come.
2022-23 season grade (W/Nets): A
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire
