How has Denver’s business flown this far under the radar? It’s wild. Michael Porter Jr., a loyal Nugget for seven years, gets the boot right after turning 27—and barely anyone blinked. But the front office wasn’t sleeping. They snagged a motivated Cam Johnson, who’s got plenty left in the tank. Add Jonas Valanciunas for muscle, Bruce Brown for grit, and Tim Hardaway Jr. for microwave scoring—suddenly, this team’s deeper than ever. Oh, and behind the scenes? Nenad Miljenovic joins the personnel while Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace climb the exec ladder. The quiet moves? They’re loud now. Denver’s cooking again.

What a cannon event of a season it’s been in Colorado. To be fair, it was about time they did something to change the supporting cast around Nikola Jokic. Because whatever they tried couldn’t bear fruit anymore. But the positives were too clear to ignore. Taking the eventual champs to Game 7 ain’t a small feat. And adding Cam and Tim in as buddies from the get go has to brew the chemistry they’ve been missing so far. If you ask the pair, that’s exactly what they’re keen on delivering.

“There’s going to be a lot of opportunity to thrive and set environment and thrive alongside veteran players that really understand how to play and really kind of understand that the goal at end of the day is to bring another championship back to Denver. So the opportunity is really exciting for us, probably in particular, Tim, and then we add back to that team. It’s just, you know, that Denver starting unit last year was incredibly efficient and really good. And so I just think the depth that we have on this team now is puts us in a position where we’re pretty serious contenders,” said Cam on The Young Man and The Three.

Tim’s dragging his veteran back onto the Ball Arena for a rotational role, nothing more than that. But Cam Johnson? That’s a coup if there ever was one. His career has been a masterclass in timing and precision. He’s not your loudest star, but he’s consistent—shooting nearly 40% from beyond the arc while holding his own defensively. He averaged 13.4 points last season with Brooklyn and showed his playoff grit back in Phoenix’s Finals run. For the Nuggets, he’s the kind of two-way wing every contender needs.

But a championship’s a far cry at the moment – we’re still in summer league season. If you ask Cam’s biggest relief so far, it’s being on the good books of the Joker for once.

Cam Johnson on Nikola Jokic: “He’s just a problem”

Not even remotely a surprise. Nikola Jokic is the kind of basketball anomaly that makes the absurd feel routine. One minute he’s throwing no-look dimes like he’s in a pick-up game at the park, the next he’s Euro-stepping into a fadeaway that somehow kisses glass perfectly. He’s basketball’s version of jazz—free-flowing, unpredictable, and genius every step of the way. And he’s got the numbers to back it too – averaging a triple-double EVERY GAME of an 82 game season, while also posting the first ever 30/20/20 triple double and a 61/10/10 against a fiesty Timberwoles side isn’t for the faint hearted.

But Cam’s not sweating it one bit. If anything, he’s got front-row seats to the Nikola Jokic experience now. That’s like courtside to basketball brilliance every night. No pressure to carry the load—just space the floor, knock down shots, and watch the Joker cook. Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig if you ask anybody not named Michael Porter Jr.

“He’s just a problem. That’s it period. You know, and he can pass, he can rebound, he can score. can come, you know what I mean? You don’t know what you’re going to get on any given day. Like kind of what mode he’s in, but man just It’s, it’s, it’s an uncanny ability. He has spatial awareness, just how he feels the game, how he understands the game. Like he does it in a way different than anybody else in the league,” said Johnson on the pod.

Absolutely, but it’s not gonna be a walk in the park. Jokic is a cheat code, sure—but even he needs the right pieces around him. Cam Johnson brings sharpshooting and solid D, while Tim Hardaway Jr. adds that microwave scoring off the bench. The Nuggets didn’t just reload—they reshuffled with purpose. So yeah, they’ve got the tools. Now it’s all about chemistry and execution.