A $22.5 million one-year deal! Farewell! The Nuggets are gearing up to trade their primary candidate.

U.S. reporter Jake Weinbach reports:The Nuggets are projected to trade Cameron Johnson during this offseason to relieve their financial strain.

Last summer, Denver gave up Michael Porter Jr. and a first-round pick to acquire Johnson from Brooklyn.

Back in May, renowned journalist Siegel indicated that Johnson was the most likely Nuggets player to be dealt, and that the team had always intended to use him as a one-year rental when they acquired him.

This season, Porter Jr. averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the Nets in the regular season, shooting 46.3% from the field and knocking down 3.4 three-pointers per game at a 36.3% rate.

Johnson averaged 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Nuggets in the regular season, shooting 48% from the field and making 2 three-pointers per game at 43%. In this year's playoffs, he posted 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game, shooting 50% from the field and connecting on 1.8 three-pointers per game at 31.4%.

Born on March 3, 1996, Johnson is a 2.03m tall wing with a 2.08m wingspan. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Next season is his contract year, with a salary of $22.5 million. As noted, Denver is grappling with salary cap issues, and his performance has fallen short of expectations, making a contract extension unlikely. Thus, it makes more sense to trade him soon for some assets rather than let him walk for free.

The Nuggets entered this season aiming for a championship, but were eliminated 4-2 by the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. Faced with such a disappointing result, the front office naturally has to make moves...

Johnson isn't the only one; starting shooting guard Braun might also depart this summer. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in this year's playoffs. Next season, his five-year, $125 million contract kicks in, detailed as follows:

2026-27 season: $21.55 million;

2027-28 season: $23.28 million;

2028-29 season: $25.00 million;

2029-30 season: $26.72 million;

2030-31 season: $28.45 million.