Welcome to the 2021-22 Suns Season Preview series, starting with individual PLAYER PREVIEWS. We go through the roster, recapping last year and analyzing how they can help the Suns in their upcoming championship.

The man, the soon to be myth, and the legend, Cam Johnson is next up. There is a lot to be grateful with the young/veteran player who will continue to trend when next season begins.

Cam Johnson

Power Forward, 6’8” tall, 210 pounds, 25 years old

Recap

A question asked by nearly everyone when the Phoenix Suns selected Cameron Johnson with the 11th pick in the 2019 NBA draft was, “who?” and with good reasoning. A player that was already older than Devin Booker went higher in the draft then anyone expected.

Now, Cam is seen as a comparison to players coming out of the draft by the Ringer.com. He was ready to play and stepped into a shooters role from three shooting 39% in his rookie season.

Originally there wasn’t a lot to expect or look forward to with Johnson, now there is a lot to expect and look forward to. Starting 11 out of 60 games for the Suns last year made him an option for Monty Williams off the bench to play into the starting lineup. This led to valuable minutes in last years post-season run and a turn of heads from the national media.

• Overall grade as an NBA player: B
• Relative grade to preseason expectations: B

Contract Details

• 4 year / $18,593,499 contract
• 2021-22 team option exercised December 20th of 2020

Strengths

The constant growth on the court.

There is still a mystery to Cam Johnsons’ game. To remind those of how he can surprise you, there was the not so delicate dunk on PJ Tucker in the finals had new people asking the question, “who?”.

That is who Cam is. He presents himself like a man on fire until he figures things out. The only way for him to learn is to show up on stage and just kill it. You gain trust and protection by watching him raise the bar and continuing to push himself.

Cam has and always had his head up after every possession, good or not. He is a team player that will find his role to contribute in the best way possible to help the team win. Playing bigger than he is, he shows off his size, strength, and deadly shooting from three and makes things a problem for the opposing team.

Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton- we still don’t know how far these guesses can grow, and the same goes for Cam.

Weaknesses

Aggressiveness is a strength of Cams, but the way to contain it and use it with finesse is the only weakness I can think of when it comes from the Million Dollar Man.

We have seen a drastic change of Cam taking the ball to the rim and knowing the right time to pass out of the drive, even if he still needs work, this weakness is the only thing I can think of other then health.

Please list other weaknesses below. I need help on this one.

ONE KEY FACTOR

The shooting from three came back to Cam in the postseason and his play gained him steam leading into next year. I see him as a player that wants to learn and improve. That is what fits this Suns culture.

Prediction Time

Cam will be the Suns starting power forward within a month of the season. A lot was riding on Jae Crowder to fill that role last season... and he did. There will be a time this season when Cam is playing immaculate and Jae might need to take a back seat. That will be the time to make the switch.

A real prediction? Cam will overshadow Mikal Bridges next year in becoming the best wing on the Suns by the end of the regular season.