The Cleveland Cavaliers are standing firmly atop the Eastern Conference at 24-4. That being said, they aren’t content with their roster. Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reports that “opposing executives… believe the Cavs are primed to make a 2-for-1 deal ahead of the (trade) deadline…”
There could be a financial benefit if they’re able to “get back below the luxury tax threshold.” Yet, their primary incentive for such a deal is “clearing up the roster logjam…”
The most likely trade candidate appears to be Max Strus, who made his season debut on Friday after returning from an ankle injury. Strus is valued by the team as a movement shooter and tough-minded defender. However, the Cavs have obviously been playing quite well without him this season. Furthermore, the 28-year-old is set to make $47.8 million through 2026-27.
Cavs ‘2-For-1’ Could Lead To Cam Johnson Trade
The first potential trade target that comes to mind is Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson. On the one hand, Johnson is simply a player who is often linked to the Cavs in trade rumors. Such whispers may amount to sweet nothings but they could have legitimate interest in the UNC product.
Cleveland’s desire to add another high-level perimeter defender is another reason to believe he could be the apple of their eye.
Johnson has taken over more of a scoring role since the Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks. In fact, he’s averaging a career-high 19.2 points per game in 2024-25. Nonetheless, he remains one of the most reputable players in the NBA at the other end of the court. So much so that there’s an expectation Johnson will be among the most sought after players ahead of the trade deadline.
Cam Johnson trying to spark the defense pic.twitter.com/UWSE0VgLYP
— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) November 20, 2024
As the 28-year-old is making $22.5 million this season, Cleveland could combine Strus and George Niang’s 2024-25 salary and get a deal done. However, there are two hurdles in this deal.
For one, Johnson is a better player than Strus and Niang combined. That and Brooklyn’s status as a rebuilding team make it likely that the Cavs have to compensate with draft picks. Unfortunately for Cleveland, they don’t have any first round picks until 2030, so they’d have to hope the Nets would accept one or more second round picks.
On top of that, Brooklyn is reluctant to take back long-term contracts in a trade. As a result, Strus being under contract for three more years might be put in a negative light.
The De’Andre Hunter Alternative
There’s at least one other player with a similar profile as Johnson’s who the Cavs could target in a 2-for-1 deal: Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter.
Starting the season off averaging a career-high 19.8 points per game has led to a spike in his popularity. However, throughout his career, Hunter has had a strong defensive presence. His two-way impact isn’t quite as appreciated by the Hawks as it could be though, as they’ve been more focused on his $20 million-plus average salary.
Trading Hunter to the Cavs for Strus and Niang doesn’t immediately reduce their bill. Nonetheless, Niang is notably only under contract through next season, whereas Hunter is under contract through 2026-27. Furthermore, there’s an on-court benefit, as Atlanta could use a player with Strus’s skillset in their backcourt.
