The Brooklyn Nets may already have the upper hand in one of the biggest offseason moves of 2025.
What looked like a clean, balanced swap at the time has started to tilt Brooklyn’s way. Last offseason, the Nets sent Cam Johnson to Denver and got Michael Porter Jr. plus a 2032 unprotected first-round pick back in return.
On paper, it felt like the kind of deal both teams could live with. A year later, the edge has shifted.
Brooklyn has spent the past year piecing together a transition from a lottery-bound rebuild toward a team that wants to be in the postseason picture in 2027. The roster still has several young players entering their first or second seasons, and the Nets also added pieces in free agency and Julius Randle. But Porter has become one of the most intriguing names in the mix.
That was not the simplest role change to project when the trade happened. Porter had built much of his reputation as a catch-and-shoot threat, and the question was how he would handle being asked to do more creation on his own. So far, he has answered that challenge well for Brooklyn, even with a slight dip in efficiency.
Johnson, meanwhile, was the more obvious fit on the Denver side. He looked like the kind of player who could slide into Porter’s old spot in the starting five and mesh naturally next to Nikola Jokic. But after a season that ended with Denver losing in the first round to a Minnesota team missing its starting backcourt, it’s tough to argue the Nuggets are in a better place now than they were before the deal.
The pick remains the biggest swing factor. If Denver bounces back and wins another title with Johnson in the lineup, the Nuggets probably won’t care where that 2032 selection lands. But with Denver not looking ready to contend anytime soon, even with Jokic in his prime, that first-rounder could turn into a major asset for Brooklyn.
For now, the verdict is pretty clear: the Nets are ahead in the Porter-Johnson swap after one season, and unless something major changes, that’s the way it looks headed forward.
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