Hungry-Space-1829 | Lakers

164 | 12 hours ago

They probably overreacted to MPJ’s injuries but who could’ve guessed

59173365129 | DEN

157 | 12 hours ago

Wasn’t really about the injuries, it was for cap reasons

Hungry-Space-1829 | Lakers

33 | 12 hours ago

I think it was both, personally. Playing through injury he looked bad and he kept being injured. The cap move was needed and the injuries made it seem like the right decision. They could’ve made the cap work if he was performing

Patient_Stomach8597

20 | 10 hours ago

It wasnt for injuries, he was one of the most durable players for the nuggets for basically 3 years, since the title year til last year playoffs. The shoulder injury was a freak injury. If anything Cam Johnson always played less games then MPJ and I personally knew we were getting a less durable player.

sleepydogg | Nuggets

5 | 2 hours ago

Yeah, this. It was 1000% for cap flexibility.

Andy_Wiggins | Timberwolves

6 | 10 hours ago

Yeah, I said it at the time — this was more about ownership dodging the tax than putting a winning team together at the end of Jokic’s prime. Which is fucking gross.

For some reason people convinced themselves that Cam Johnson was going to be an upgrade over MPJ, despite Cam Johnson’s career best season being arguably worse than MPJ’s typical season (and MPJ is younger by over 2 years). At best it was a lateral move (better passing, slightly better defense, but smaller and worse rebounding).

The big benefit was savings, which did provide additional optionality (getting Valanciunas), but a lot of their good signings (Hardaway Jr. and Brown) were available for minimums regardless. That makes sense, except Denver traded an amazing draft pick asset that was their final bullet. Their unprotected 2032 had SO much value — Jokic, Murray, Gordon are probably aged out by then. It’s almost guaranteed to be top 20, very good chance to be in the lottery, and has a decent chance of being top half of the lottery. Trading that for…Valanciunas is a fucking travesty

FishGoldenLite | Timberwolves

14 | 5 hours ago

This is revisionist history. He was atrocious in the playoffs last year - something like 9 PPG and under 40% shooting. He was better the season before but had a pretty rough series against the Wolves.

The Nuggets were justifying looking for a more well rounded, affordable, durable player in Cam Johnson. He’s not doing amazing but he’s still an efficient player for them.

kingdomage

7 | 5 hours ago

Cam Johnson and durable in the same sentence.

FishGoldenLite | Timberwolves

3 | 4 hours ago

Ok I looked up the numbers and was definitely wrong on that point lol. I still think the Nuggets were rightfully concerned about MPJ’s back long term.

veringo | Nuggets

2 | 3 hours ago

He hurt his shoulder in game 2 of the first round and still had some really big shooting performances against LAC and OKC. What more would you expect him to do with one arm?

LindseyCorporation | Thunder

0 | 3 hours ago

So they’re cheap and betrayed the fans

CrippledBanana | Canada

1 | 7 hours ago

Yea 100% great move by Denver, it let them get other players on their team. It’s a bit sad that cam has been disappointing though. I do think their weakness is rebounding without him

Jec1027 | Warriors

36 | 12 hours ago

But but they got even more depth from the trade.

VelvetineMilkman | Thunder

37 | 12 hours ago

Some of the pieces they added are valuable for sure but people swore Valanciunas was a game changer and he was -21 in 8 minutes lol

AbbreviationsBig395 | Warriors

23 | 12 hours ago

He was a traffic cone on defense. The two plays I saw him fail miserably on D back to back. He looked cooked and lost.

km912 | SAC

15 | 12 hours ago

He averages 23 and 13 per 36 this year on 61.9% TS. He’s a bad defender but he’s good enough offensively to be at least a net neutral, which for a backup 5 is all you can ask.

VelvetineMilkman | Thunder

2 | 11 hours ago

He got played off the floor in about half a quarter every single time we played the Pels the past couple years, I’ve seen enough to know that signing wouldn’t affect us in the slightest lol

soycameron | Trail Blazers

2 | 9 hours ago

I think we’d see a lot more Watson and Gordon at the 4 and the 5 against you instead of Val cuz wow was he bad

-xXxMangoxXx- | Raptors

3 | 10 hours ago

To be fair hes by far the best backup big jokic has ever had. If AG and Pwat were healthy, they would have Val on with those two to make up for the defense, while having someone that can operate in the post similar to jokic, and not mess up their offense in the non-jokic minutes. I don’t think its exactly uh, fair to write him off after having a bad showing against the reigning champs while not having the ideal set up for him.

dave__autista

1 | 29 minutes ago

He was bad yes, but to be fair to him, OKC is a team best suited to exploit a player like Valenciunas when they go 5 out. Against OKC Denver will have to play AG as backup 5

revisioncloud | Thunder

29 | 12 hours ago

Waived my triple double cocaine bear smh

CantTrussWypipo

9 | 12 hours ago

Bruce and THJ were vet minimum signings they could’ve signed regardless of MPJ trade

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

2 | 11 hours ago

It was bizarre how r/NBA and every analyst kept repeating that the deal was so genius because it landed them Jonas, Bruce, and THJ. It was clearly not true about two of them, but everyone just parroted it.

MuchAbouAboutNothing | Thunder

6 | 12 hours ago

They did though.

They’ve been fucked by injuries but I think the trade was good even though I also think MPJ > Cam Johnson

Specialist-Fuel9291

10 | 12 hours ago

MPJ has always been way better than Cam johnson. They aren’t comparable as players. Its just injuries and cost

Obvious_Parsley3238

6 | 12 hours ago

Hardaway and Brown were vet mins so it didn’t affect those signings. It let them get Valanciunas but he’s just a regular season minutes eater.

CantTrussWypipo

-1 | 12 hours ago

lots of people. but redditors thought Cam is a better player cause MPJ said some things on a podcast

Hungry-Space-1829 | Lakers

20 | 12 hours ago

People were wanting MPJ gone long before the podcast. Not relevant imo. His real issue was he played through injury and looked bad doing it. That + a big contract is tough to keep

CantTrussWypipo

4 | 12 hours ago

grass always greener

hydropenguin69 | Thunder

109 | 12 hours ago

Thank God we didn’t trade Joe and picks for him last season.

MarmotWorldOrder

29 | 12 hours ago

Proof a small but vocal portion of the fanbase are brainless.

MuchAbouAboutNothing | Thunder

36 | 12 hours ago

We ARE all brainless tbh. Just trust Presti and pray

xXEliteEater500Xx

7 | 12 hours ago

Hoarder Presti knows his shit

LilBigZay | Thunder

104 | 12 hours ago

I’m glad they traded mpj ngl

Chickachic-aaaaahhh | Thunder

97 | 12 hours ago

Dude played us hurt in playoffs and got called a bum lol

_Caek_ | Thunder

43 | 12 hours ago

and he was actually servicable for like the first few games

not his fault the series went to 7

fetuswut | Bucks

22 | 12 hours ago

Lmao anyone with eyes could mention that to you and nuggets fans were still flaming him and Westbrook(who also had a broken hand iirc) for playing through injury

EnderTheTrender | Thunder

17 | 12 hours ago

Idk Aaorn Gordon on one leg outplayed Murray, Westbrook, and MPJ.

_Caek_ | Thunder

10 | 12 hours ago

nope wrong nope westbrook was the reason they won game 1 in the first place and was probably their best player that game i don’t remember much else from that game other than westbrook won the game.

EnderTheTrender | Thunder

3 | 12 hours ago

Yes game one on a shot Aaron Gordon hit, and the rest of the series he didn’t do fuck all.

fetuswut | Bucks

1 | 12 hours ago

He had crazy three point shooting variance tho and his game is more off two feet rather than one, also Murray wasn’t horrible he just was also playing through a calf injury

MuchAbouAboutNothing | Thunder

4 | 12 hours ago

I still maintain the nuggets don’t get through the clippers without russ last year.

Chickachic-aaaaahhh | Thunder

4 | 12 hours ago

Yeah man hes a perimeter shooter and 7 games into it with a team like okc is exhausting. His shoulder must’ve been wrecked by the end of it.

Awkward_Event1966 | Thunder

22 | 12 hours ago

All of Jokics teammates are bums from what nuggets fans say on here. Jamal carried the Serb today and won’t get any love because the big guy had a bad game

Chickachic-aaaaahhh | Thunder

5 | 12 hours ago

They keep pointing out he didnt score for 11 minutes straight like the nuggets weren’t missing every open shot in general

CantTrussWypipo

2 | 12 hours ago

its like Lebron stans

Top_Willingness_6858

1 | 12 hours ago

Yup

revisioncloud | Thunder

5 | 12 hours ago

He has dumb podcast takes but he’s not a bum

Top_Willingness_6858

1 | 12 hours ago

That was the Jokic lovers. These people are toxic.

Crabbypattygod

3 | 12 hours ago

on my life nugs win last years series if hes healthy

Adorable-Bike-9689

1 | 12 hours ago

Imagine all they needed to do was let him get healthy and take on a bigger role.

Thanks for playing hurt! Now fuck off!

libertydabbing | OKC

1 | 12 hours ago

Spiderman glasses meme but it’s shoulder-less MPJ and Cam

Herbertand3 | Nuggets

1 | 11 hours ago

Before he started going on podcasts I hated it. Now, I’m neutral.

Kertia

46 | 12 hours ago

Bruh. This man does not know how to pass against okc. Mans was just lobbing soft ass passes.

zebrainatux |

45 | 12 hours ago

Scam Johnson imo

Headlesshorsman02 | Thunder

19 | 12 hours ago

He was truly terrible on offense, made some clutch defensive plays though

ilikekittens2018 | Nuggets

19 | 12 hours ago

He was so ass this game in the clutch only matched by Tim’s double turnover special to simply lose us the game on the spot

Strict_Engine678

4 | 4 hours ago

That double turnover sequence was brutal, felt like the game just evaporated in 30 seconds.

MaskedBirder | 76ers

17 | 12 hours ago

It’s one game. He’ll bounce back hopefully, shooters can be streaky

tolzan | Nuggets

2 | 12 hours ago

He’s been pretty poor all season

-profile1 | Clippers

11 | 8 hours ago

how is that possible? he’s shooting 42% from 3. genuinely asking, havent watched many denver games this year

mercfan3

4 | 4 hours ago

He hasn’t. He struggled his first couple of games, as anyone would on a new team, went on a heater, got hurt, and just game back a few games ago.

He didn’t have a good game, same is true for a lot of guys. He’s still an excellent player next to Jokic. Smart, excellent shooter, a significant upgrade defensively from MPJ. Good cutter…etc. staying healthy is always going to be his biggest issue.

All the plus and minus tells you is that he was in the game in the minutes Jokic wasn’t.

rawchess | Minneapolis Lakers

16 | 12 hours ago

Him and THJ shitting their pants in the clutch while Caruso went god mode was the difference

gregromanisntreal | Nuggets

15 | 12 hours ago

Bro can we kidnap Mpj back?

BasedGodProdigy | Nets

37 | 12 hours ago

Price just went up

gregromanisntreal | Nuggets

9 | 12 hours ago

Not cool!

Striking_Foot4850

5 | 12 hours ago

Price of the hick going up

AVeryBadMon

13 | 12 hours ago

It’s the Brooklyn effect. You get a bunch of these 3rd/4th option players become the top player of a shitty team so they’re forced to take a lot of shots that makes them look way better than they are.

It happened with Bridges, it happened Cam Johnson, and it’s happening now with MPJ. The lesson here is that you shouldn’t trust any hype coming out of the Nets.

Obvious_Parsley3238

10 | 12 hours ago

Bridges didn’t even look good outside of a 20 game stretch right after being traded. Sean marks just kept calling him a ‘franchise cornerstone’ to psyop the knicks into trading 5 frps.

Iron_Maniac | Thunder

9 | 12 hours ago

And there were people who wanted us to trade Isaiah Joe for him smh

Born_Ad_818

7 | 12 hours ago

Trading mpj for this is crazy

CoachLee_ | Rockets

5 | 10 hours ago

Folks was really downvoting people for saying he wasn’t a good replacement for mpj

Troll_U_Softly | Thunder

3 | 12 hours ago

There were Thunder fans that were convinced we needed to trade for him to help outshooting. Thankful Presti knows best.

goknicks23

3 | 10 hours ago

But he’s such a better fit then MPJ, anytime you can acquire a guy that can average 12 ppg for just one first you have to do it. Lol

Jonjon428 | Heat

2 | 12 hours ago

Should have gone after Cam Thomas smh

danixrog | Thunder

2 | 12 hours ago

glad OKC never traded for this bum

we wanted TM3 anyway

Fun_Mind1494

2 | 11 hours ago

Let the apologies be as loud as the disrespect!

BasedGodProdigy | Nets

1 | 12 hours ago

I thought having a season as our first option would’ve made him the perfect guy to help run their bench unit but it seems like he’s regressed completely with his handles and aggressiveness. The shot was always pretty inconsistent tbh he was doing a lot more on-ball stuff for us that hasn’t translated over at all

metaslaves | Toronto Huskies

1 | 3 hours ago

I keep saying this, but for a lot of players being a first option is easier than being a 3rd option. Fans often mistakenly think that being the 3rd option means you take wide open shots all day when that’s not the case at all.

When you’re the first option the offense is ran through you for the sole purpose of getting you easy shots. You touch the ball every possession, and you can easily get into a rhythm. If you start the game going ¹⁄₆ you know you have another 10-12 shots allocated to you.

Third option is different, less plays are ran through you and it’s much harder to get into a rhythm. Some games you might get 12 shots, some games you might get 5. If you start the game ¹⁄₆ there’s no guarantee that you’ll get another 10 shots.

BasedGodProdigy | Nets

1 | an hour ago

While I agree to an extent, he was taking much tougher shots than he is now. His shot makeup was different though, more mid-range shots and drives

FlashAndPoof | Thunder

1 | 12 hours ago

Hope he turns it around… after the playoffs. I like his podcast appearances on Old Man and the Three

armandocalvinisius | Mavericks

1 | 12 hours ago

You are dallas mavericks baby

-KFBR392 | Raptors

1 | 11 hours ago

Including a missed game winner and missed 3 to bring the game within one possession in OT

Aggrokid

1 | 10 hours ago

It’s purely a salary dump. The wiggle room at least allowed them to get some depth.

SakuraShift | Nets

3 | 9 hours ago

The wiggle room only allowed them to get JV.

It didn’t affect their ability to get Bruce and THJ, who were vet min signings.

D3struct_oh | Rockets

1 | 10 hours ago

Solid player but I never understood the hype around him.

_Jetto_ | NBA

1 | 8 hours ago

I’m fucking SHOCKED he’s shooting 40% from 3 this season

Milkmoney1978 | SEA

1 | 8 hours ago

Bring back MPJ

beefJeRKy-LB | Lebanon

1 | 6 hours ago

Get ready to learn salary dumped buddy

Prestigious-Top8336

1 | 4 hours ago

him & Tim Hardaway Jr did a lot of bs this game

incredibleamadeuscho | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Cam cant replace what MPJ dis for their tram

heat_fan_ | Raptors

0 | 12 hours ago

Yikes

PestyAssassin33WU93 | CHA

0 | 12 hours ago

Bro is ASS. Really feels like the lights are too bright for him and I don’t think he’ll be a good contributor in the playoffs. On the other hand, you can’t fault the Nuggets for trading MPJ because the depth they added really helped given the injuries they’ve suffered this season

prettymuthafucka | Wizards

0 | 5 hours ago

Jokic has to deal with this and hardaway jr while sga has that loaded team

Cam Johnson in loss to OKC: 40 minutes, 7 points on 2⁄7 FG, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, game-worst -23

Cam Johnson in loss to OKC: 40 minutes, 7 points on ²⁄₇ FG, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, game-worst -23