Even before the offseason began, the rumor was that Cameron Johnson would likely be dealt by the Denver Nuggets to someone willing to absorb his salary in order to keep Peyton Watson in free agency. It would be to avoid all of the taxes associated with violating the NBA's second apron luxury tax threshold.
The Nuggets performed a similar maneuver last summer when they traded Michael Porter Jr. and the 2032 first-round pick for Johnson and saved about $17.2 million in the process. Cam's stellar finish to the season may have thrown those plans for a loop, and he could be sticking around a little longer than expected. And he should.
Johnson had a very slow start to the season, and he missed 28 games before finally returning to the roster just before the All-Star break. Couple that with his expiring contract, and it made perfect sense that Johnson would probably be the easiest to move for the notoriously cheap Nuggets to avoid all the exorbitant taxes associated with violating the second apron threshold to re-sign restricted free agent Watson in the run-it-back plan.
But the latest intel from Michael A. Scotto and HoopsHype puts those rumors to bed. For now, at least.
"Numerous teams have called the Denver Nuggets hoping they’d be willing to dump forwardCam Johnson, who’s owed $23.06 million in the final year of his contract, but those inquiries have been rebuffed, league sources told HoopsHype."
Maybe the Nuggets value Cam more than we thought, and that's why they are exploring the sign-and-trade options for Watson.
The Nuggets could see Johnson as the better option next season
While Cam started slow, he actually had a much better season than some of his stats indicate. In fact, Johnson had the best shooting year of his seven-year NBA career, making 48.0% of his shots from the floor and 43.0% from three. He benefited mightily from playing alongside Nikola Jokic.
Cam may have only averaged 12.2 points per game, but he came into an offense that didn't need him to shoulder the load like he was asked in Brooklyn before he came to the Nuggets. The volume in his game dropped out as a byproduct of playing with Jokic and Jamal Murray, and his shot attempts per game fell from 13.1 in 2024-25 to 8.8 with the Nuggets in 2025-26.
Peyton Watson offers the Nuggets a better chance to restock the cupboard
The Nuggets are reportedly seeking a big return for Watson, and they could be seeking multiple first-round picks and pick swaps to trade Watson. They wouldn't get that for Johnson. And perhaps this is the Nuggets' plan.
If they're truly losing someone to avoid the second-apron taxes, they may be taking the route that gets them more future draft capital instead of just shedding salary and giving up draft capital. That's smart. It just stings to lose a young, potential star in Watson to do that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google