Cam Johnson will be out at least 10 more days with a left calf strain that was initially diagnosed as a contusion.

Johnson suffered the injury in the Brooklyn Nets' regular season opener on Wednesday. Johnson was previously out with a hamstring strain.

Johnson underwent an MRI on the injury.

Ahead of his first game against his former team, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving had no regrets about how he left the Brooklyn Nets.

“I was never on bad terms with the organization,’’ Irving said. “I just think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything, but nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes. I’m sure that people have their sources they go to [about] what was going on and what really happened.”

Irving added that he's happy to with the way things played out. He re-emphasized that he had no problem with the Nets as a team, but that's he happy to be with the Mavericks.

“But for me, it was the best decision of my career to ask for a trade,’’ Irving said. “I knew I needed peace of mind.”

The Brooklyn Nets have exercised the fourth-year team options for center Day’Ron Sharpe and guard Cam Thomas.

Sharpe appeared in 48 games (three starts) during the 2022-23 season and averaged 4.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.

Thomas played in 57 games (four starts) last season, averaging 10.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.6 minutes per contest. The Chesapeake, Va., native saw action in two 2023 postseason games and averaged 3.0 points over 7.8 minutes per game. 

The Brooklyn Nets waived Kennedy Chandler and Patrick Gardner. Both players had been signed to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts.

Chandler and Gardner are expected to join the Long Island Nets for the G League season.

Brooklyn's roster now stands at 15 players on standard contracts and two players on two-way contracts.

The Brooklyn Nets have waived Darius Bazley.

Bazley averaged 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds on 42.9 percent three-point shooting for the Nets in preseason.

Bazley is expected to receive interest in free agency. 

Ben Simmons knows fans in Australia have been critical of him not suiting up for the national team. But Simmons also knows those fans know they need him, if the team is to medal in international competition.

"People are like, ‘Well you’re not Australian if you don’t want to play’, and all this stuff that comes with it. And I just laugh. I’m like, Alright. And I want my team to succeed all the time. So it’s just interesting seeing that go on and then when we get knocked out, people are like, ‘Okay, we do need him’," Simmons said. "I’m like, Yeah, it would be nice to have me there because I’m one of the best players that’s come out of the country. So I love that respect, but at the same time it’s [about the] Olympics for me. That’s what I think about. Let’s get through the season healthy and play in the Olympics. That’s just going to be insane for me. I’m going for a medal, but just having that experience and to be able to represent my country, there’s probably nothing better than that.”

Simmons also expressed that he doesn't just want to return to his former All-Star form. Now that he's healthy, he has bigger goals in mind.

"I want to be better than an All Star. That’s where I want to be," Simmons said. "I never try to live with myself. I’m never like, Well, hopefully, maybe I get a couple votes in an All-Star game. Nah, if that’s the case, I might as well be fishing.”

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux), Jared Weiss of The Athletic (@JaredWeissNBA) and Jared Dubin of This Night in Basketball (@JADubin5) go in-depth on the NBA’s Atlantic Division.

They discuss how the Celtics, 76ers, Knicks, Nets and Raptors fared in the off-season and predict the season to come, including projected finish, breakout players and rookies they are most excited to see.

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The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Kameron Hankerson and Trey McGowens. Both players signed Exhibit 10 contracts and will likely play for the Long Island Nets of the G League after the preseason.

Hankerson spent last season with the G League Nets. He averaged 6.9 points in 16.4 minutes per game for Long Island.

McGowens appeared in 23 games for Long Island last season. He averaged 3.7 points in 10.3 minute per game.

Cam Johnson was diagnosed with a mild hamstring strain and will miss the start of training camp, the Brooklyn Nets announced on Monday.

Johnson suffered the injury during an on-court workout.

The 27-year-old was confident that he would return sometime during preseason. 

“I do expect to play at some point in preseason, just not in these next couple of days, and we’ll see how it goes in this next week," said Johnson.