Cameron Johnson 'Grateful' For Spot on the Nets

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a season that was riddled with injuries to some of their bigger names, including Cam Thomas. The former LSU star was sidelined throughout the season with various injuries to his left hamstring, which limited him to only appearing in 25 games.

It's worth noting that in those 25 games, Thomas would be a pivotal part of Jordi Fernandez's offensive schemes, putting up a team-high 24 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field. Given that Brooklyn was without their leading scorer, Fernandez had to look elsewhere to make up for that gap in offense, which would eventually lead him to Cameron Johnson.

Johnson would do his fair share of making up for lost production as he'd have a career year, dropping an average of 18.8 points per night, converting on 47.5 percent of his shots. While these numbers weren't enough to land him in the All-Star game, they were enough to help him be selected for the Three-Point contest.

Despite Johnson's efforts and those of his teammates, the Nets weren't able to make an appearance in the postseason, but this wasn't enough to dampen his feelings about the season. The former UNC star is thankful to have his spot in Brooklyn and the league as a whole.

"At the end of the day, any opportunity to go out and play the game we love is something to be cherished," said Johnson. "I'm very grateful to be a part of the league, to be a part of this organization, that's the first thing that comes to mind."

One of the impressive parts of the Nets' ongoing rebuild has been the evolution of Johnson, who came onto the team from a lesser role on the Phoenix Suns. However, immediately following his arrival in the Barclays Center, the 29-year-old was made a starter, something that has stuck ever since. Given this importance on the team, as well as his experience in the league, Johnson felt as if he had become a larger leader among his teammates.

"The biggest lesson would be along the lines of holding a bigger leadership role amongst our team, amongst our group, leadership kind of on and off the court in those ways."

This role as a leader is set to be important for Brooklyn, as they continue to bring in young talent who have yet to be molded in the league, which includes their four first-round picks in the upcoming draft.