3 core Nets players who could be playing final season in Brooklyn

2. Cam Johnson

When the Nets first acquired Cam Johnson at last year's trade deadline and then subsequently signed him to a lofty $94.5 million contract this past summer, the belief was that the franchise was securing a foundational piece who could man the starting power forward spot for the many years to come.

Fast forward halfway through the first year of his multi-season pact, however, and what fans, media pundits, and the ball club have come to realize is that the 27-year-old shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a cornerstone building block at all but, rather, just another solid contributor within a rotation.

A strong shooter and an underrated finisher at the rim, Johnson finds himself putting up per-game averages of 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while cashing in on 45.8 percent of his attempts from the floor and 40.1 percent of his attempts from deep.

Though undoubtedly sound numbers, the bulk of his production has come when serving as a tertiary option which is not the most ideal situation when considering he's making over $20 million per year on a team that's barely staying alive in the Play-In race.

At this price range, a club is likely looking to see a go-to scoring threat rather than a contributor who primarily plays off-ball like they currently have in Johnson.

Perhaps the forward may be more valuable to the team as an outbound asset in a trade for a more prominent talent as opposed to being forced into a larger role than he's seemingly capable of playing.