Cam Johnson knows what time it is. Or more accurately, what time of year it is.
With this a rebuilding year for the Nets, Johnson knew his name would come up in trade rumors.
And with the Feb. 6 deadline just two weeks away, those reports would come fast and furious. But he’s done his best to tune them out.
Do they make noise canceling headphones for trade rumors?
“Keep my head down. I just try to emotionally disconnect from that,” Johnson said before Wednesday’s 108-84 loss to his former Suns team. “I have to, for the sake of myself, and invest all that energy into the present and to the team that we have.
“No matter what happens, the Nets have invested a lot of resources in trying to make me a better player. So my job is to compete for the city, for this team, for this organization, for my teammates. And that’s what I’ll do. And if I get traded, then that objective shifts to wherever I’m going. But for now, this is where I’m at.”
Where Johnson was Wednesday was sidelined again by his sprained right ankle, after jamming it again Tuesday while being guarded by Mikal Bridges.
He’s missed 8 of the past 11 games, and could miss more if the ankle lingers.
But he’s averaging 19.4 points on 49.1/41.9/89.8 shooting splits, making him a prime trade target on a team that’s rebuilding — though clearly still playing hard.
“A group that’s going to compete. There’s a lot of outside noise, and I think we’ve understood that from Day 1,” Johnson said. “A lot of people have a lot to say about what we got going on. But what matters to us is what we got going on in our locker room and what goes on on our court. … At the end of the day, nobody can take that away from us when we go out and compete for each other.
“It has nothing to do with what we’re doing on the court. When we step between those lines. Our goal is to win every game and compete every game.”
The Stein Line reported the Nets and Kings haven’t talked about Johnson for weeks, and that Sacramento doesn’t see a pathway to a workable Johnson deal and is engaging other teams on targets.
Brooklyn reportedly indicated to rival teams that they’re not as determined to move Johnson as they were to deal Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Tyrese Martin, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson, Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton started, their 24th starting lineup of the season.
That’s their most through the first 45 games in team history per Elias.
Johnson (right ankle sprain) and Ben Simmons (illness) were downgraded to out.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Max Lewis, De’Anthony Melton, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Thomas, Trendon Watford and Ziaire Williams were also out.
Williams is day to day. Watford has been upgraded to doing contact work.
