Johnson was a first round pick in 2021, getting selected 21st overall, but never was able to get his career going as he played very little and bounced around in his first few years. He finally got significant time in '24-'25 for the Nets, playing almost 1,900 of non-garbage time and starting a majority of the season. Johnson was touted for his explosiveness coming out of college, but he hasn't been able to use that athleticism in any sort of pratical matter. He only shot 54% at the rim in '24-'25, which is pretty much in line with how he has finished for his career. The shooting hasn't come along either, as he only hit 32% of his 3s in '24-'25. He does crash the glass pretty well for his position. Defensively, Johnson uses his athleticism to be disruptive, positng pretty good steal and block rates for his position. He can move his feet well in on-ball situations and has some good instincts in off-ball defense. Johnson has struggled early in his career, but he's still only 23 years old and showed some improvement in '24-'25. I think he has done enough to be given a chance, but still needs to prove he truly belongs in the NBA.

Johnson has a $2.3 million team option for 2025-2026, and if that is declined he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. Using his Early Bird Rights, the Nets could offer him a starting salary of around $14 million, which should be more than enough to retain him. However, that likely wouldn't even be an issue considering if they want to retain him and he plays well enough to warrant that kind of money, they can just exercise the option. If his option is declined, other teams will have multiple ways to sign Johnson as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or possibly even the Taxpayer MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also possible that he only gets minimum offers, and he may not get fully-guaranteed offers.

Dante Exum (2-1 year, $9 million, 2023) Malachi Flynn (1 year non-guaranteed minimum, 2024) Chuma Okeke (1 year non-guaranteed minimum, 2024)