Nets' expensive trade has massive domino effect on Bulls' Josh Giddey negotiations

Amid a flurry of free agency signings, the Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets agreed to a resounding trade sending Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2023 first-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for Cameron Johnson.

The Nets finally part with Johnson after dangling him as trade bait for what felt like an eternity, while the Nuggets rid their books of Porter Jr.'s expensive pact following a disappointing showing this past postseason.

While parting with Johnson wasn't necessarily a must for Brooklyn. At 29 years old, he was never part of the Nets' long-term vision. His services were always more worthwhile elsewhere as a premier, low-usage shooting specialist capable of lining up at multiple positions.

On the other hand, Porter Jr. was never the cleanest fit on Denver's roster. Despite winning a championship with the Nuggets in 2023, he was arguably never more important than Denver's fourth-most impactful player. Porter Jr. is a strong volume-scorer and rebounder, but that's about it. When he's not hitting his shots, he's just about as ineffective as a well-compensated player can be.

The former Missouri Tiger averaged merely 7.4 points in the Nuggets' Western Conference Semifinals loss to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder. His low-scoring contribution coincided with inefficient shooting splits of 32.2 percent from the floor and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc. And as mentioned, he didn't add much elsewhere, averaging 5.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game throughout the seven-game series.

The Nets' decision to add Porter Jr. has serious salary ramifications

Thus, the Nuggets were reasonable in parting ways with Porter Jr., especially after two consecutive Western Conference Finals losses—a shakeup was necessary. Moreover, the best part of the trade has yet to be mentioned. Although the Nuggets parted with a future first-rounder, Denver swapped the remaining two years of Porter Jr.'s $78 million salary for two seasons of Johnson's $44 million.

In the aftermath of the trade, the Nuggets are now $9.2 million below the tax line, armed with most of their non-tax midlevel exception ($14.1 million) to spend, even after signing former role-player star Bruce Brown Jr.

Conversely, the Nets are left only $17 million in salary cap space after entering free agency with a projected $35 million. There's still an avenue to clearing an extra $8 million by waiving non-guaranteed players, but that still won't be enough to poach some of the most intriguing remaining restricted free agents, such as Josh Giddey or Jonathan Kuminga.

Once rumored to covet both the Chicago Bulls' guard and Golden State Warriors' forward, it's now unlikely the Nets will extend an offer to either 22-year-old, especially considering they'll be handling a restricted free agent of their own (Cam Thomas).

With the Nets more than likely out of the Giddey sweepstakes, the Bulls will have the utmost leverage in negotiations. The six-hour flurry of free agent signings has all but decimated the spending power of just about every team in the association, including the once-salary-cap-rich Nets.

Instead of preparing to match a potential $35 million per season offer from Brooklyn, Chicago will enter contract negotiations at a lower price, such as $20 million per annum. While a five-year, $125 or even $150 million pact remains imminent, the Nets' expensive swap has paid dividends for the Bulls.