Nets' Cam Johnson looks forward to a mentoring role this season

As a young player with the Suns, Cam Johnson saw what leadership looked like with Chris Paul. One of Paul’s strengths was being a calming influence on the court and in the locker room

“You could always look at him and he has everything under control,” Johnson said before Friday's preseason finale. “He controlled the pace of the game. He controls our team mentality, our team disposition and he’s the head of that.”

For the Nets entering the wilderness of a rebuild, Johnson wants to bring some of that calm this season. Despite being named in trade rumors, he’s repeatedly said he’s focusing on the now, not what could come.

Johnson led by example in the Nets’ 116-112 loss to the Raptors Friday to finish 1-3 this preseason. He had 21 first half points at Barclays Center and finished with a game-high 32 points in 32 minutes.

The challenge in a year where losses could add up is finding leaders to keep players together.

Distractions will be easy on a team with seven players on expiring contracts. Add in trade rumors with Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith and it’s easy to find tension or players losing focus.

It’s also harder for a player to lead when their future is uncertain and they might not be around by season’s end. That’s why Johnson reminded himself and his teammates to be in the present despite what happens around them.

“One thing they do in this league, they will throw you around a little bit,” said Johnson. “You might get traded and your name's thrown around and your future can be uncertain. But in the moment, they treat us pretty well.

"So I take that responsibility very seriously, my responsibility to this team, to this organization. And this is where I am, so I’m all in.”

Other players, like Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton, have talked about taking on a greater leadership role this year. First-year coach Jordi Fernandez, however, isn’t putting that pressure on his team immediately.

While he’s challenged players to step up, he’d rather let it unfold to see who players gravitate to.

“I think right now it's too early,” Fernandez said pregame. “We have guys that have played in this league for a long time, and I expect some type of leadership from those guys. And I have younger guys that I also expect leadership in different ways.”

For Johnson, it means leading by example while mentoring the younger Nets. As Paul did for him, now it’s his time to be a steady voice with the Nets regular season starting Wednesday.

“I just remember how much that meant to me,” Johnson said. “So, I just want to be there for the young guys and be there for anything they need, whether that's life basketball, anything in between.”

Notes & quotes: Dorian Finney-Smith was out Friday after a hard fall in Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers. Fernandez said it was precautionary and shouldn’t affect his status for the season opener this coming Wednesday . . . Ben Simmons returned to the lineup and had four points, eight rebounds and six assists . . . Claxton (hamstring) and Killian Hayes (hip) also missed Friday’s game but Claxton is still trending to be available Wednesday.

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.