Nets Two-Ways Johnson and Nelson Push for Real Minutes in Brooklyn
Chaney Johnson posted 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds over 17 NBA games last season. Both small-school grinders are fighting a 15-man roster crunch for playing time.
Defensive energy and a crowded frontcourt make him an injury-away stash.
- Johnson: 8.2 pts, 4.6 reb across 17 NBA games (2025-26)
- Johnson 19.9 FPTS/G last season, +3.7 over last 5
- Nelson: 4.3 pts in 4 preseason games (2025-26)
- Nets carry 15 standard deals, no cuts expected
- Two-ways can dress 50 games before conversion
Brooklyn's two-way corner is getting loud. Chaney Johnson, 24, averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds across 17 NBA appearances late last season (2025-26), good for 19.9 fantasy points per game — and he's done nothing but build on it. His profile over the last five games sits +3.7 fantasy points above his season average, the kind of upward trend that gets undrafted guys noticed.
The problem isn't production. It's math. The Nets already have 15 players on standard contracts and aren't expected to cut anyone, with eight of those still on rookie deals. That leaves Johnson and fellow two-way Grant Nelson fighting for scraps of rotation time on a roster suddenly trying to win.
Johnson's Case Is Built on Dirty Work
Johnson's path is the undrafted grind: Division II Alabama-Huntsville, then Auburn, then an Exhibit 10 look in Cleveland before Brooklyn signed him in December. He put up 14.4 points and 6.1 rebounds across 24 G League games for Long Island, then carried that into Summer League, where he led the Las Vegas portion in steals. At barely 6'7", he's held his own at center through sheer physicality.
The locker room has noticed. Egor Dëmin called him the hardest-working guy in the gym and predicted he'll earn a standard contract eventually. With Brooklyn's frontcourt defense a genuine concern this season, Johnson's energy could force the issue — especially since two-ways can dress for 50 games before any conversion decision is required.
Nelson's Healthy, Finally
Nelson's story is about the knee. The 7-footer nicknamed 'Dakota Durant' battled patellar tendinitis that cut his 2025-26 season short, costing him all of Summer League. He says he spent the whole offseason rehabbing to rebuild his quad strength and feels back to 100% for the first time in a while. In four preseason games he averaged 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds (11.9 fantasy points per game), including a nine-point, four-rebound burst in nine fourth-quarter minutes against Washington on 4-of-5 shooting.
For fantasy managers: neither is a standard-league play yet, and our model has both unranked. Johnson is the one to track — his defensive floor and that +3.7 recent trend make him a cheap deep-league stash if a frontcourt injury opens minutes. Nelson's a monitor-only until he strings together healthy NBA games. Keep both on the watch list, and pounce on Johnson first if the Nets' bigs start dropping.
