Cameron Johnson knows what’s required for the Nets to get where they want to go.
And despite the team’s slide since he arrived in Brooklyn, Johnson is adamant the Nets can achieve feats similar to those the Suns accomplished when he was with them.
The 27-year-old forward was acquired by the Nets from Phoenix, along with Mikal Bridges and four first-round picks, last month in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade.
Johnson was part of two playoff runs the past two seasons with the Suns, who reached the NBA Finals and then the Western Conference semifinals.
“Obviously, combining a couple players, there’s some things we have to iron out,” Johnson said Wednesday. “But I think the core of what we have, and what we’re trying to do, I think it’s pretty special. We’ve got guys that compete, guys that play hard and you’re gonna start seeing us build this thing together.”
The Nets announced a new partnership with New York City Public Schools on Wednesday to expand their community-based basketball clinics. As part of the effort, the Nets and the WNBA’s Liberty will provide basketball clinics free-of-charge to public elementary and middle schools in Brooklyn.
Johnson, along with head coach Jacque Vaughn and CEO Sam Zussman, made the trip Wednesday to P.S. 001 The Bergen in Sunset Park, just down the block from the team’s practice facility, to kick off the program.
“It’s huge, because it’s a reflection of doing your part in the community,” Vaughn told The Post. “I’ve really tried to dive into being a resident of Brooklyn and there is no better way than to bring the game of basketball, have a relationship with the Department of Education and hopefully a lot of kids get exposed to this beautiful game.”
Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who was teammates with Kyrie Irving in Boston and is the vice president of the players’ union, was critical of the Nets when they suspended Irving for tweeting a link to an anti-Semitic film in November.
Brown doubled down on his sentiment in an interview with The Ringer on Tuesday.
“I feel like what the Brooklyn Nets did … it was inappropriate,” Brown said. “I think it was like a public ransom note almost, in a sense, where he had a list of demands he had to do to return to the game. It was a violation of our CBA. It’s a violation of our agreement and kind of got looked over like it was nothing.”
