Getty Warriors F Andrew Wiggins
The Warriors have struck out on two of the All-Star players they pursued this offseason, unable to get a deal done to bring Paul George to town, then missing, too, on Lauri Markkanen, who signed an extension with the Jazz that will keep him in Utah, at least for this year.
It could well be that the Warriors simply enter into the 2024-25 season with the roster as it stands, hoping that improvement from young players Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga will be enough to give star Stephen Curry the kind of supporting cast to take the Warriors pack to the playoffs.
Or they could remain on the hunt, with a player the team has had interest in before because of his ability to stretch the floor: Nets forward Cam Johnson, who could hit the trade block soon as Brooklyn looks to dive deeper into a rebuild.
Cam Johnson: On the Block or Not?
Of course, as with any trade, there are complications. The first is whether the Nets will consider trading Johnson at all. He is 28, and a bit beyond Brooklyn’s timeline for a rebuild, but he does have some useful qualities.
“You don’t get the sense they’re knocking down doors to move him,” one NBA executive told Heavy Sports. “I think they’ll get to that point, either in the next few weeks or before the (trade) deadline. He does a lot of good things for you, he can shoot, pretty good defender, good guy to have in the locker room. The contract is not bad, either. So, there will be a market for him if they get that ball rolling.”
The Warriors would be one of the teams expected to have interest. The Lakers, Kings and Spurs, too, and probably more.
From Golden State’s perspective, Johnson’s injury history would be a concern. He has played 283 out of 391 possible games in his career, and was limited to 100 games in his last two seasons. Still, the number that should entice the Warriors is 39.2, which is Johnson’s career shooting percentage on 3-pointers.
The Warriors love shooters. And with Klay Thompson now in Dallas, they could use more accurate floor-stretchers. The other problem, though, would be where to play Johnson. He is a natural power forward who has spent limited time at small forward, and some time at center—though at 6-foot-8, he could only handle the middle in short spurts.
The Warriors enter 2024-25 already with a logjam at the 4, with Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga both slated for time in that role.
Warriors Trade Makes Sense
But if the Warriors can sort out the positions, Johnson does make sense. He is decent defensively and does not need the ball in his hands, but he still averaged 13.4 points last year and 15.5 points the previous season. The Dubs could use him as the top weapon off the bench—he was third in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2022, when he was playing for Phoenix.
Johnson is in the second year of a four-year, $94.5 million contract he signed with the Suns before he was dealt to Brooklyn.
Ideally, the Warriors would give up Andrew Wiggins and one future draft pick for Johnson. But Brooklyn will likely want more—two first-rounders, or a first-rounder and Moses Moody. It’s a steep price, but the Warriors are still facing the question of remaining in contention while Curry is still producing.
A trade for Johnson might not make them contenders. But it would make them better. “I think he’d be a perfect fit there, really,” the exec said.
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