Reshaping opportunities? How is the deal between the Nets and the Nuggets!

As soon as the free market opened, a very thoughtful deal appeared:

Nuggets sent Porter Jr. to the Nets in exchange for scorer Cameron Johnson, plus an unprotected first round in 2032.

For this deal, it seems that two starters with different styles swap teams, but from a deeper perspective, it depends on the two teams at different stages of development, choosing to adjust their strategic focus under this opportunity.

The core of this deal lies in the swap between the two starting wings, but in essence, both the Nets and the Nuggets have deeper considerations. The Nuggets have been deeply trapped in the playoff defensive quagmire for two consecutive seasons, and Porter Jr.'s health risks and high salary pressure have forced the team to seek more stable player combat power. The Nets are in the reconstruction stage, hoping to find high talent and greater potential for combat power, while Porter Jr. and the 2032 draft picks are just right in line with their goals.

From the perspective of Porter Jr., as a 208-height forward shooter, Porter Jr. has excellent shooting range and high-end finishing ability. He missed the entire rookie season due to a back injury since entering the NBA with the 14th overall pick in 2018, but then began to make his mark.

In the 2020-21 season, Porter Jr. averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was once as high as 44.5%, and was also regarded as a key pillar of the Nuggets' Big Three. However, his injuries have always been a hurdle. With a five-year, high-paying contract of 172 million yuan, he has also begun to put pressure on the Nuggets in terms of salary space. In terms of advantages, Porter Jr. is tall enough, but has the characteristics of a shooter, and has enough scoring methods in a healthy state, so he can be competent in both fast attack and half-field position battles. The disadvantages are also obvious. The defensive end is slow and is limited by injuries and athletic ability. It is often played by opponents on the list, and attendance and health risks are also quite troublesome.

Looking at Cameron Johnson in turn, although he is not as outstanding as Porter Jr., he is still a recognized high-efficiency shooter in the league under stable conditions. Since joining the Suns at the 11th pick in the first round in 2019, he has shown excellent catch and shooting ability. It is a high-quality signing puzzle for many championship teams.

Average 31.6 minutes of playing in the Nets this season, contributing 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists to the team, shooting percentage of 47.5% and three-point shooting percentage of 39%. As a typical 3D player, he is a very suitable assistant player who builds a team around the stars. In terms of advantages, Cameron has better offensive stability and more stable attendance, which can be seamlessly connected with Jokic. In terms of disadvantages, his independent creative offensive ability is slightly weak, his chances of ending at the basket are limited, and the ceiling is still slightly weaker than Porter Jr.

Compared with these two people, they appear to be off-ball shooters with similar styles, but there are still many differences behind this. Although the two are both tall shooter forwards, their role positioning, technical characteristics and tactical functions are obviously different.

Potter Jr. is an active scorer with singles and ball-holding offensive ability, able to shoot directly from high positions, and can also execute breakthroughs and end. He is a semi-held ball-holding offensive weapon that the team can rely on. Cameron is a systematic shooter, good at receiving and shooting and running without the ball, and is mainly responsible for opening offensive space and providing defensive lower limits.

Judging from the future team positioning, Porter Jr. is more worthy of being the team's deputy core or deputy attacker, while Cameron is the perfect puzzle for the team, which can seamlessly integrate into various systems, but there are still many doubts about supporting offensive firepower alone.

Combined with higher-order data, Porter Jr.'s three-point shooting percentage is slightly higher, but his round usage rate and ball holding time are also much higher. Cameron has higher defensive stability and healthy playing rate, which is a high-quality combat power option. In short, Porter Jr. is an unstable but higher-capped scoring forward, while Cameron is a sufficiently stable, yet well-functioning and relatively limited 3D weapon.

From the Nets' perspective, this deal appears to take over Porter Jr.'s high salary and health risks, but a deeper logic is that under the premise that there are still several young cores in the team, they need a potential deputy core to break through the limitations of reconstruction. If Porter Jr. can perform healthily and even play offensive firepower that averages 20+ points per game, plus the 2032 draft pick, this deal will have a chance to become a valuable deal in the Nets' reconstruction process.

On the other hand, the Nets already have enough space to accept Porter Jr.'s contract, and there is no need to enter the competitive mode at the moment. They can patiently wait for Porter to recover from health, and then collect assets around this route to pave the way for future rise. Although Porter Jr. and Cameron are both high-value rotation wings, the impact of their contract structure on the team's salary space is completely different.

Potter Jr. signed a five-year contract renewal with the Nuggets for 172 million yuan in 2021. His annual salary in the 2024-25 season will exceed 35 million, and will continue to increase year by year. By 2026-27, it will be close to 40 million, and the contract guarantee ratio is also quite high. Such a huge contract under the labor-management agreement will bring more than just tax pressure to teams like the Nuggets that exceed the first tyrant line, but will also limit future trading flexibility and operating space in the free market.

In contrast, Cameron's contract is much more moderate. He signed a four-year contract with the Nets in 2023, with an average annual salary of just under 24 million. Although it is not cheap, the stable attendance rate and tactical adaptability make his cost-effectiveness more reasonable, and also helps the Nuggets make more flexible follow-up trading under salary pressure..

For the Nuggets, this transaction is not only risk management, but also a financial optimization; as for the Nets, they use their short-term salary space advantages to take over high-risk assets and strive for possible future returns that exceed expectations.

For the Nuggets, this is a deal that emphasizes both rationality and reality. They have relied heavily on Jokic and Murray's dual-core systems over the past two seasons, but have always been a weak link in wing rotation and health protection. Porter Jr.'s offensive firepower is certainly worth it, but his high-risk crisis makes the team untrustable at critical moments. Cameron's addition can at least provide more stable three-pointers and defensive mobility, and can also make up for the gap after Pope left.

More importantly, the Nuggets signed back Bruce Brown after trading Porter Jr. The one-year low-priced contract of 3.63 million yuan and Cameron's ready-to-fight power directly allowed the Nuggets to further improve rotation stability and defensive foundation while retaining the championship team.

Judging from the future forecast, Cameron has the opportunity to serve as the second substitute forward in the Nuggets, and even partner with Aaron Gordon to maintain the tactical structure of shooting and controlling on the field, allowing Jokic to gain more space. Porter Jr. has more main attack opportunities in the Nets, and will form a dual-core to build a firepower line with Thomas.

Finally, in this deal, the Nuggets and the Nets do not have any obvious winners, but both sides have shown clear enough goals. The Nuggets choose to reduce uncertainty and continue their chances of winning the championship with more reasonable salary and immediate combat power; while the Nets bet on future potential with a long-term perspective, looking forward to the emergence of the next star.

No matter whether you win or lose, time will be the key to determining this deal, and this seemingly equal player swap is likely to become the most critical turning point for the two teams.