Cam Johnson remains confident in himself, Nets: ‘I feel like the pieces are there’
The scene of Cam Johnson meeting with new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez for the first time proved to be one of the more memorable images from last Wednesday’s introductory news conference in Brooklyn.
Johnson and rookie Dariq Whitehead were the only two Nets players in attendance, though Fernandez told reporters he had already been in contact with most of the current roster.
As the image of Johnson and Fernandez began circulating on social media, it became clear that there is a sizable faction of fans that do not view the forward in a favorable lens.
There is a reason for that.
Johnson, 28, averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 58 games this season while shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.1% from deep. It was his lowest-scoring season since his 2021-22 campaign with the Phoenix Suns. His overall field goal percentage dropped after shooting 46.8% over his first 25 games after being traded to Brooklyn last season. And although his 3-point shooting efficiency slightly improved compared to then, it was still under 40% — which does not scream floor-spacing sniper by any means.
The 20-plus games Johnson missed because of various injuries were out of his control. But fans expected more production out of a player who signed a four-year, $94.5 million extension last offseason. Even worse, Johnson did not have a defined role toward the end of the Nets’ season. He came off the bench in 11 of the final 18 games he appeared in.
“It’s part of it,” Johnson said. “Nobody ever says anything will be handed to you, anything will be easy, adversity won’t come up, so it’s part of it. You just got to take it, keep it pushing, keep working, and focus on tomorrow, focus on what we can do today.
However, Johnson recently told reporters that he remains confident in himself and the team, even if some fans in Brooklyn have lost confidence in him.
“I feel like the pieces are there,” Johnson said. “I feel like the base is there. I feel like it’s possible, it’s accomplishable. Obviously, we failed in our mission this year, point-blank period, no way around that… That’s all part of the process. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, you just got to get better and focus on what we can do going forward. And that’s where my head’s at right now, how we can elevate the organization, how we can be better on the court, off the court and get back on track to where we think we should be.”
Johnson will earn a base salary of $22.5 million in 2024-25. He will not be a free agent until 2027-28.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we can get better, seeing where we might have lacked this year and where we have areas to improve and trying to attack them for the future,” Johnson said.