The Brooklyn Nets played some of their best basketball in December after starting the season as one of the worst defensive teams in NBA history. Brooklyn has turned its season around thanks to improvements on the defensive end, and considering the organization is primarily interested in player development, it looks like they are giving another young player a chance.
The Nets announced Friday that they signed guard/forward Chaney Johnson to a two-way contract, bringing the number of players on the roster to 18. Johnson, 23, was undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft but spent the 2025-26 season with the Cleveland Charge, the G League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of the teams coached by Nets head coach Jordy Fernandez during his NBA coaching career.
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Johnson, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, averaged 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 60.4% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range. Johnson has played 16 games in the G-League so far, but he has yet to make his NBA debut because Cleveland did not draft him despite playing well at the G-League level.
Now that Johnson has signed with Brooklyn, he joins guard Tyson Etienne and forward EJ Liddell as two-way players on the roster. After spending his first three college seasons at Division II Huntsville, Alabama, Johnson spent his junior and senior seasons at Auburn University, where he averaged 7.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.5 minutes per game while shooting 54.4% from the field in 73 games.
Since Johnson is now one of Brooklyn’s two-way players, he will likely be demoted to Long Island temporarily, similar to what the team did with Etienne and Liddell. However, if Johnson can maintain his current level of play, or perhaps improve in some areas, he could find himself getting some NBA playing time, especially if the Nets are as active at the trade deadline as some expect.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets sign guard/forward Chaney Johnson to two-way contract
