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Having already embraced the tank by dealing away Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Brooklyn Nets have one more major chip to play before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, Cam Johnson is viewed as the player most likely to be dealt before the deadline by people around the NBA with the Nets having turned all of their attention toward accumulating as many future draft assets as possible.
There was some concern earlier this season that Nets players were ruining the team’s plan of potentially landing a franchise player in the 2025 draft by winning too many games. They were 9-10 through 19 games after rattling off a three-game winning streak from Nov. 24-27.
Since Schröder was traded to the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 15, the Nets have lost 12 of their last 16 games. Finney-Smith was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 29.
The nadir of Brooklyn’s season, at least to this point, came on Wednesday with a 126-67 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The 59-point margin was the most-lopsided defeat in franchise history.
Johnson’s value stems from being one of the few quality wing players on the market, in addition to having a relatively team-friendly contract. The 28-year-old is signed through 2026-27 with salaries of $20.5 million and $22.5 million over the next two years after this season.
The Athletic’s Joe Vardon noted the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the teams that have interest in Johnson as they seek more help on the perimeter after losing to the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder this week.
One league executive told Bontemps and Windhorst that the Nets’ asking price for both Johnson and Nic Claxton “is high” and they are telling interested teams they don’t feel like they have to move either one right now.
“But if they’re helping them win games, they’ll trade them or put them on the bench,” the executive added.
Johnson is in the midst of the best season of his career. He’s averaging 19.6 points on 49.9 percent shooting (42.8 percent from three) with 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 33 starts.
The Nets currently have the seventh-worst record in the NBA at 14-27. Their average scoring differential of minus-7.1 points per game is ahead of only the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards.
