With the Brooklyn Nets looking to complete a fire sale in the wake of their decision to trade Mikal Bridges, the Cleveland Cavaliers are ready to pounce at the opportunity.
See, the Cavs “love” Cam Johnson.
Cavs Hope of Dream Nets Trade Could Become Reality
“They have for years,” cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor tells 92.3 The Fan’s Baskin and Phelps.
“He worked for them in the 2019 draft. He was on their radar… blew them away in the workouts and in the interviews. And they were planning on using that second first-round pick on Cam Johnson.”
.@ChrisFedor tells @CLETalkingHeads the #Cavs will be in the mix to make a trade IF the #Nets make Cam Johnson available pic.twitter.com/3u5fDzGqzy
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) June 26, 2024
“If he is available… the Cavs will be involved in those conversations,” Fedor adds. “There’s no doubt about that. The question becomes, do they have the pieces to satisfy what Brooklyn would want in return for Cam…”
Jarrett Allen, You’re Up!
As Fedor notes, with the Nets taking a long-term view on their rebuild, Cleveland likely needs to offer a combination of draft assets and young players to acquire Johnson. Without any first round picks between 2024 and 2030 though, the Cavs would have to get creative. Their 2024 No. 20 pick should be up for grabs, but Johnson is worth a bit more than that.
With that being said, if Cleveland can flip Jarrett Allen for one or more first-round picks, they could be in business. Indeed, Allen seems to have generated a solid amount of trade interest, as several teams reportedly want to make a deal for him. The Cavs may be able to pry the No. 9 pick away from the Memphis Grizzlies or wrest the No. 11 pick away from the Chicago Bulls.
If they can complete that Allen deal, a lottery pick and the Cavs’ own first in the draft could be enough for Johnson. However, even if they don’t those team’s current firsts, they can make a play for future ones. This, too, could open the door for Johnson to leave Brooklyn.
Cam Johnson’s Fit In Cleveland
Johnson’s perimeter talents are what the Cavs have needed for a long time.
At 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, he’s a deadly outside threat who has made 39.2 percent of his career 3s. In fact, he’s converted at least 39 percent of his 3-pointers in all but one season. As he’s able to play either forward position, he would be able to supplant the 6-foot-5 Max Strus or Isaac Okoro in the starting lineup. Because Johnson’s also a staunch defender, this would be a net positive for Cleveland in either scenario.
Strus is an intense defender who can catch fire from behind the arc. He’s also quite durable, missing fewer than 15 games each of the last three seasons. However, he’s severely undersized when he’s at small forward and a streaky jump shooter.
Okoro is an elite defender who has made incremental progress at the offensive end. This led to him shooting a career-high 39.1 percent from 3 in 2023-24. Yet, he’s undersized as a forward and his 3-point stroke isn’t yet reliable or reputable enough. He’s also currently a restricted free agent.
