PHOENIX — Former Phoenix Suns and current Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson made an appearance at Footprint Center for last night’s Phoenix Mercury vs. Connecticut Sun game.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Cam Johnson, former Phoenix Suns forward, is here at the Footprint Center watching Mercury versus Sun.#ValleyTogether #WNBA pic.twitter.com/IA9Ky8byAK
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) July 2, 2024
The Sun (15-4) handed the Mercury (9-10) their second loss in as many days with a 83-72 victory.
Johnson has been reported to be on the trade block since the Nets traded away another former Suns player in Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 13.4 points on 44.6% shooting (39.1% from 3) and 4.3 rebounds in 58 games (47 starts) in his first full season in Brooklyn in the 2023-24 season. The Suns traded Johnson, Bridges, Jae Crowder and four unprotected first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029) to the Nets for Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren in Feb. 2023.
Johnson started his career in Phoenix and played in exactly 200 regular season contests for the Suns after they acquired him on draft night in 2019, averaging 10.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in those contests and playing a bench role in their run to the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns cannot trade back for Johnson unless they send out one of the team’s Big 3 of Durant, Devin Booker or Bradley Beal, which general manager and president of basketball operations James Jones has said isn’t happening.
Phoenix has the highest project payroll in NBA history at $216.7 million for the 2024-25 season (via CapSheets), so it is operating over the second-tax apron of $188.9 million.
In this threshold, the Suns are not able to take in more salary than they send out, include cash in deals, aggregate contracts or use a preexisting trade exception.
https://t.co/udxc31w9FX pic.twitter.com/2gcOTqijy7
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 24, 2024
Johnson is making $23.625 million next season, so the Suns would have to send Brooklyn a player straight up making this salary or more, which is only the Durant, Booker and Beal.
Some of the latest reports say the Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic are interested in Johnson.
Fans Go Crazy for Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson Tribute Video
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
