Suns Pick Up Option On Cameron Johnson

The Suns have picked up the fourth-year contract option on forward Cameron Johnson, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Johnson, 25, is 6-foot-8 and continues to offer the threat of perimeter shooting off the bench for the defending Western Conference champions. 

NBA teams have to decide on whether to exercise third- and fourth-year options on eligible players by Monday evening.

Johnson was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He averaged 9.6 points and 3.3 rebounds and is scoring 7.0 points per game this season. He is shooting 37 percent on 3-pointers for his career.

Johnson will now be eligible for a rookie-scale extension at the end of the season. “If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be eligible for restricted free agency in 2023,” wrote Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors.

Johnson recently explained that the reason he wears No. 23.

“It comes from my grandma,” Johnson said. “My grandma, she’s a prayer warrior to the fullest extent, and she kind of told my dad to use this Bible verse as a prayer every time you go into a game, into a competition, into an important meeting, whatever it may be. And he instilled that down into me.

“So Psalm 23 has been a verse I’ve always said before every game and then I say now during the national anthems. I’ve said it during the national anthems since high school but it’s the reason I wear 23. I was also a huge fan Jordan fan growing up so 23 is a huge number of significance to me.”

Phoenix also has to make a decision on the option for power forward Jalen Smith, who has had a rocky start to his pro career.