Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson has been having a career year as he has been thrusted into the most involved offensive role of his time in the NBA. Now that the NBA’s trade deadline has passed, Johnson can focus on the rest of the season along with the fact that he was named as one of the contestants in the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend, an event he is excited about.
“Sean [Marks, general manager] pulled me aside the other day and said that they invited me to do it, so it’s an honor,” Johnson said about participating in the contest, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Johnson will be joining a field that will be pretty tough to beat, including Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard, the two-time defending champion of the event.
“I watched the 3-point contest growing up and always imagined being out there, so it’ll be pretty cool. I’m excited,” Johnson continued. “It means a lot. It’s a skill set I pride myself on and something I take really seriously. So, yeah, it’s a big-time opportunity.”
What makes Johnson’s participation in the contest encouraging to see is due to the fact that there seemed to be a strong possibility that he would be playing elsewhere given all of the reports surrounding his trade prospects. However, as the league got closer to the deadline, it seems that the Nets became less inclined to deal Johnson given that most of the deals weren’t meeting the value that Brooklyn reportedly wanted for Johnson.
Despite the fact that he was in trade rumors for the past few months, Johnson is trying to keep his eye on the prize and enjoy the moments that he has. That means that when he steps into Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, next weekend to compete in the three-point contest, all he is thinking about is competing in something that he has been dreaming about for a long time.
“You dream about this stuff all the time. Everybody dreams of playing in an All-Star Game. I’m not there, but I’ll be involved in the weekend to some extent. And I put a lot of effort into shooting and working on that and priding myself on that over a lot of years, so it feels good to be recognized. But I want to go win it,” Johnson said.
