Cam Johnson never said a bad thing about playing for the Nets. He hasn't said anything bad about Brooklyn since the Nets [traded him to the Denver Nuggets](https://nugglove.com/nuggets-absolutely-fleeced-nets-cam-johnson-trade) for Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick. Johnson enjoyed being in Brooklyn, although the Nets didn't do much winning.
Now, Johnson is back in the Western Conference, playing alongside the league's best player on one of its top teams. It's been a few years since he was part of a playoff team, but he was in Phoenix when the Suns made it to the 2021 NBA Finals. That was Johnson's second season in the league, and his numbers from the postseason (or that season) don't jump off the page, but his game has grown since then.
We won't automatically assume the Nuggets will return to the NBA Finals (but we will manifest it) for the first time since their 2023 title win. If they do, Johnson would play a much larger role for Denver than he did in Phoenix a few years ago. He'll be important to a deep playoff run, period.
Johnson wasn't unhappy in Brooklyn, but playing for Denver puts him on a level that he hasn't been on in his NBA career, not even when he was in Phoenix. He's a key part of [what the Nuggets did this offseason](https://nugglove.com/cam-johnson-is-already-looking-like-steal-offseason-nuggets), and many people believe that acquiring him will help power Denver past Oklahoma City, the team to beat in the West.
Cam Johnson is playing for a contender again
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What has to be nice for Johnson, too, is knowing that after he spent more than a year being in trade rumors, a trade finally happened. Several contenders expressed interest in him, but the Nuggets were the ones to swoop in and make a deal happen. Johnson handled the rumors well, but that kind of ongoing chatter can take a toll on the players involved.
Instead of wondering in the back of his mind when a trade could happen, or what team he would play for next, he has been able to move forward.
Nothing will ever compare to the joy that Denver felt when the Nuggets won their first championship two years ago, but winning a second championship would be a lot of fun, too.
The goal as a player, regardless of who you are, is to do whatever you can to help your team win a title. Everybody knew that once the Nets traded Kevin Durant, any chance they had to win a championship dropped to zero. That didn't stop Johnson from liking Brooklyn, but we suspect he'll prefer being in Denver.