Suns forward Cameron Johnson out indefinitely with torn meniscus

Johnson hurt his knee Friday night on a non-contact play, three days after he had the second-best scoring night of his career, putting up 29 points in a win over the Timberwolves. 

The Suns announced that Johnson will be having surgery on his right knee, and offered no timetable for his return.

The Suns' normal starting lineup of Johnson, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, and Deandre Ayton has been awesome this year offensively, shooting 53.7% from the field and 48.8% from 3-point range, and Johnson's shooting has been a huge part of it. 

He's averaging 2.8 triples per game on 43% shooting. Johnson also plays solid defense and takes care of the ball — in eight games, he's only turned the ball over twice.

Now Phoenix has to replace a sweet-shooting, defensive-minded power forward. And where could they find one of those?

Jae Crowder isn't quite the same shooter as Johnson, but he might be better defensively. It's clear that he's still paying attention to his old team, given a now-deleted exchange with StatMuse from last week.

Crowder congratulated Johnson for his 29-point game, but clarified that he once made eight 3-pointers in a game for the Suns. For the record, Johnson hit nine triples in a game last March, including a banked-in game-winner at the buzzer.

Crowder's relationship with the Suns may be too far gone for him to return, so the team will turn to Torrey Craig as the starting power forward for the time being.

As for Johnson's return, a torn meniscus has an unpredictable timetable. 

James Wiseman missed an entire season after tearing his meniscus in April 2021, and Lonzo Ball still hasn't played after having surgery on his meniscus in January. 

Complicating matters is that Johnson is a restricted free agent next summer, after the Suns didn't sign him to a rookie extension last month. 

The priorities of the Suns' desire to win an NBA title might not align with Johnson's priorities of protecting his body and next contract.

While Johnson is out indefinitely, the injury means that Crowder's time in exile is likely to end sooner. 

If he's not going to be the solution at power forward, the Suns' best move is to flip Crowder — perhaps along with a 2023 pick — for the player who can be.