LAS VEGAS — Keeon Johnson arrived in Las Vegas as an unrestricted free agent and is using summer league as a job interview.
He’s just making an impression on both ends of the court.
“I think I made a good impression,” said Johnson, who was on a two-way contract with Brooklyn last season. “I still have a lot of room to grow, but when I look at the film, [there have] I’ve had many opportunities to improve my game and I feel like I’m improving and getting better every day.”
Johnson comes into Thursday’s game having averaged 17.7 points through his first three games with the Nets.
Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks and new head coach Jordi Fernandez have yet to publicly comment on Johnson’s progress, but assistant coach Steve Hetzel, who was named head coach of the summer league team, had high praise for the young wing.
“I’m really happy,” Hetzel said. “I love Keon. I’ve known him for a while now. It’s been great to watch him grow as a person and as a player. I’m really happy he gets to show off all the work he’s done and all the hours he’s put in in the gym to get to this position.”
Hetzel was an assistant in Portland when Johnson was a rookie.
He has since praised the 22-year-old’s development and maturity, praising him for being more than just a goalscorer.
So far with Las Vegas, Johnson is averaging 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists, often guarding the opposing team’s most dangerous perimeter players.
He stayed in front of Knicks rookie point guard Tyler Kollek in the second quarter of Tuesday’s come-from-behind win, forcing several turnovers.
After recording 13 steals in his first 11 Summer League games, Johnson already has six steals in just three games this year.
And despite only having four blocks this summer league, he has already stopped three.
“I think Keon can be a defensive nightmare,” Hetzel said. “We challenged him in summer league to be our absolute best defender and he’s lived up to the challenge. He’s a great athlete, but you can’t sit back and guard him.”
That athleticism is what got Johnson into the league.
His astounding 48-inch vertical jump remains the best ever recorded at the NBA Draft Combine.
But Hetzel has pushed Johnson to use his superior athleticism more effectively, and Wing said that confidence has helped his own confidence on that side of the court.
“Oh, certainly. [made] “I’m getting more comfortable on the court and learning how to make my own mark on the game,” Johnson said.
“Every time I step on the court, I feel like I’m pretending to be a dog, which is what coach labeled me, and I’m trying to get the other guys to do the same. But like you said, when I go out there and play like a dog, I feel like it raises the level of our play.”
Johnson is eligible for an additional two-way contract from Brooklyn.
While he hasn’t received any direct feedback from Marks yet, he feels the progress he’s made in Las Vegas will carry over to the NBA.
“So, I feel like everything I do on the court is exactly the same as what I do on the main court as far as playing defense, spacing the court, taking open shots,” Johnson said. “And then when I have the ball in my hands, I just make simple reads. I feel like I’ve shown that every day in summer league and hopefully once summer league is over I’ll be able to do the same thing.”
Nets leading scorer Cam Thomas has changed agents and is now represented by Octagon’s Alex Thalasis, The Post has learned.
Thomas is eligible for a contract extension, but Brooklyn could wait and make him a qualifying offer next year, making him a restricted free agent in 2025.
