The Denver Nuggets are trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson, sources tell @samamick.bsky.social.
More details: www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv…
— The Athletic (@theathletic.bsky.social) June 30, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The Denver Nuggets are sending Michael Porter Jr.—a critical part of their 2023 NBA Championship roster—to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson—a critical part of that podcast JJ Redick left to float in the middle of the ocean as he leaped like Superman to jump the line and become an NBA head coach with no experience outside of coaching his child’s peewee wealthy private school squad.
Let’s look at the trade details:
Nuggets receive:
- Cam Johnson ($21 million this season/$23 million the season after)
- Unprotected 3032 first-round pick
Nets receive:
- Michael Porter Jr ($38.3 million this season/$40.8 million the season after)
Denver Nuggets
Pros
Cam Johnson seems like he has his life together.
He’s an adult.
His family isn’t in and out of prisons (which isn’t Michael Porter Jr’s fault, obviously. Can’t stress that enough. But still. It’s on his mind, I’m sure.)
I’ve also watched too many Nuggets playoff games where, at the end of the game, you didn’t realize Porter was even on the court for 40 minutes.
In Denver’s 7-game series against OKC, MPJ finished with single-digit scoring in 5 of the 7 games.
I know he had a shoulder injury, but Denver could’ve beaten the 2025 NBA Champs if Michael Porter Jr was replaced by someone, like, say, Cam Johnson.
Cons
The Denver Nuggets gave up an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to get off Porter’s silly contract.
Nikola Jokic will be 37 in 2032.
My man will be shirtless, blowing cigar clouds, riding horseback in the Baltic by 2032.
That pick will 1000% be in the lottery.
Cam Johnson isn’t that good.
Best Case Scenario
This trade essentially replaces Michael Porter Jr. with a player at half his salary—allowing Denver to sign more players like Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr to add depth to their rotation.
Last offseason, Denver lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and replaced him with nothing.
The 2024-25 Nuggets had, like, 6 playable characters.
By the end of their season, Jokic looked like he was leaving a Brooklyn club at 6am, rushing home to shower before their 7:30am shift starts. (I’m definitely not writing that from experience)
Cam Johnson can be MPJ but better.
Worst Case Scenario
It feels like Michael Porter Jr is always injured and he’s been injury-prone since getting his back blown out in college—but he played 77 games this season and 81 the year before that.
For a guy with a massive salary he does not deserve, MPJ plays through a lot of pain to help his teammates try to win a championship.
Cam Johnson is entering his 7th year in the NBA.
He’s played 65 games or more once.
One times.
I know he was shut down early in Brooklyn because they weren’t trying to win, but as a Knicks fan, I just saw what happens when you take a potential championship role player and send them to go waste years for a franchise that isn’t interested in winning.
Mikal Bridges looked shocked at how hard everyone else around him was playing when he changed boroughs.
Cam Johnson has to go from 0 to 100 and we just witnessed Mikal Bridges struggle to do the same thing.
Brooklyn Nets
Pros
The Nets received a future unprotected first-round pick and a former NBA champion in the locker room who can guide their 5 rookies through the hell of an 82-game NBA season.
Brooklyn also takes a big contract they could use to trade for a potential All-Star—freeing them from having to give up a ton of rotation guys to make the salaries match and ending up in a Knicks/Carmelo situation—where New York gave Denver all the players they would have liked to have on the roster playing alongside Carmelo Anthony.
Cons
The former NBA champion guiding the rookies is Dale Gribble—ranting about conspiracies that can be discredited by simply asking, “Wait, why would they do that?”
I imagine MPJ doesn’t ease into these convos either.
I assume he jumps people with his nonsense like those TikTokers who stand on bourbon street, ambushing strangers with stupid ass questions like “Are you a top or a bottom?”.
Best Case Scenario
Michael Porter Jr was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school.
He’s only 27 years old.
If he spends this summer in the lab, learning to dribble with both hands—a skill he hasn’t needed to even bother working on in Denver—he could be the building block, the player that helps form the team’s identity.
Michael Porter Jr has the potential to be an NBA All-Star.
Especially in next year’s Eastern Conference, where half the stars will be watching the games at home in walking boots.
Worst Case Scenario
MPJ doesn’t know how to dribble and he’ll be in the corner watching Cam Thomas burn all 24 seconds of the shot clock.
He will destroy the Nets salary cap as he becomes less and less of a valuable asset after every passing game of 8 points and a negative +/-.
Thanks for reading.
Let me know your thoughts on this Michael Porter Jr trade, leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee.
