Brooklyn Nets forward Chaney Johnson has been with the Nets since last season when he first saw NBA minutes for a rebuilding team that is looking towards the future. Brooklyn saw some glimpses of what Johnson could do on the floor against NBA competition last season, but this summer presented the chance for him to show how hard he's willing to work to achieve his goals.
"I'm just continuing to trust the process. I'm just here to do my job and have fun while doing it. Whatever the coaching staff wants for me, however they see my development, I'm trying to buy fully in," Johnson said during an interview with NetsDaily's Connor Long on "The Brooklyn Boys" podcast. Johnson is currently on a Two-Way contract with the Nets, but if he develops enough,
he could find himself getting a standard NBA deal soon.
"If they (the coaching staff) see you being a certain type of player and you try your best to be that type of player they see you as, payment is going to come," Johnson continued. "Going into the summer league, it wasn't even like I had anything to prove. I just want to go out there have fun. Of course, we wanted to win it all, but we fell short."
Johnson, 24, went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft after a solid college career that took him from Alabama-Huntsville university to the University of Auburn. In six games played between the California Classic and the Las Vegas Summer League, Johnson averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 66.7% from the field and 50.0% from behind the three-point line.
Given that Johnson is currently on a Two-Way deal with the Nets, he will likely be spending the majority of next season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's G League afiliate. However, there are plenty of ways that Johnson could find himself getting more minutes at the NBA level, especially if he continues to work as hard as he has been up to this point in his career.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Chaney Johnson discusses working to earn standard NBA contract
