It wasn't all that long ago when Cameron Johnson was considered a top trade target for the OKC Thunder. Less than a year ago, reports were regularly surfacing that Oklahoma City was keeping tabs on the availability of the sharpshooting forward.
Of course, following his migration to the Nuggets this summer via trade from the Brooklyn Nets, the hope of seeing Johnson heading out to the Sooner State was all but dashed. In fact, at the time, his arrival in the Mile High City was seen as a serious boon for Denver in its pursuit of dethroning the Thunder.
Fast forward three weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, however, and, shockingly enough, this once lauded addition to one of OKC's most feared rivals is playing out like an unmitigated disaster.
Thunder should be happy to see Cam Johnson floundering with Nuggets
Though it may still be early in the year, Johnson has looked flat-out awful so far during his tenure with the Nuggets, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Throughout his six seasons leading into this one, the 29-year-old had established himself as one of the game's best 3&D role players, boasting averages of 39.2 percent shooting from deep and a defensive rating of 114 per 100 possessions.
Now, in year seven, while he's still been rather effective on the defensive front (107.8 defensive rating), he's fallen well short of expectations in the long-range department.
In nine games played, the $108 million sniper finds himself averaging 8.0 points on a putrid 23.5 percent shooting from distance in 26.6 minutes per night.
With him off the floor, the Nuggets' offense sees both an uptick in rating (122.4 compared to 119.9 with him on) and effective field goal percentage (59.1 compared to 54.7), while the amount of points accumulated from beyond the arc rises from 25.2 percent (worst on the team out of those who have logged over 50 minutes played) to 31.7 percent.
Let's not forget, Denver parted ways with both a future first-round pick as well as a key member of their title-winning 2022-23 core, Michael Porter Jr., in exchange for Johnson's services.
Unfortunately for them, to this point, all they have to be thankful for is that guys like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon have played well enough to make up for his blunders, as the Nuggets still sit at the third seed at 7-2.
Now, as mentioned already, the campaign is still very young. With 73 games left on their regular-season docket, there's still plenty of time for Cam Johnson to get into a groove and prove himself worthy of Denver's pursuits.
That said, the early results have been far from pretty, which, considering the Nuggets are viewed as the main threat to their repeat hopes this season, is a welcome sight to see for the Thunder.