As the Golden State Warriors continue to wait on LeBron James, they have every incentive to keep tabs on some of their reported trade targets like Trey Murphy III and Cameron Johnson.
It appears they can check the latter off their big board.
According to Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto, the Denver Nuggets are not entertaining trade offers for Johnson, who is one expiring $23M salary.
“Numerous teams have called the Denver Nuggets hoping they’d be willing to dump forward Cam Johnson, who’s owed $23.06 million in the final year of his contract, but those inquiries have been rebuffed, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto reported.
“After shooting career-highs from the field (.480) and beyond the arc (.430), Denver was pleased with his production despite injuries limiting Johnson to 54 starts last season. In Johnson’s last 15 regular-season games, he averaged 15.2 points on 56.2 percent shooting from the field and 48.2 percent from downtown,” added the insider.
Warriors Wait on LeBron James
Several insiders feel the Warriors would be wise to give up on their LeBron James dream and focus their efforts on upgrading the roster around Stephen Curry. While they did re-sign Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford this summer, the Warriors have yet to finalize a new deal with Draymond Green, who is reportedly waiting for James to make his decision before re-upping with the Bay Area franchise.
One of the risks the Warriors run by waiting on James is possibly allowing rival teams to snag some of the players they’ve targeted in trades. Trey Murphy, for example, is another player that the Warriors could target with three tradeable first-round picks.
LeBron James Remains ‘Undecided’
James, who entered Day 24 of his free agency period on Thursday, is still genuinely “undecided” on where he plans to sign this offseason. The 41-year-old veteran was previously expected to join either the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers, but new reports suggest that his decision isn’t cut-and-dried, offering hope to dark-horse candidates like the Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Nobody knows right now except LeBron,” a source told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “And I’m not even sure LeBron knows.”
“…As of Thursday morning, there is still no announcement,” Vardon’s report added.
Last week, James said, “I won’t hold you guys up too much longer” at the Fanatics Fest, following which it was assumed that his announcement was imminent. However, some insiders have suggested that James has gone back to the drawing board after initially finalizing on one specific team — rumored to be the Miami Heat.
Another theory doing the rounds is that James is purposely delaying his decision after being irked by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who urged the 24-year veteran to hurry up so the league can finalize its schedule for the 2026-27 season.
“They [James and his camp] were probably comfortable making an announcement as early as last week,” Cleveland radio host Andy Baskin reported on Wednesday.
“And then, people were telling them what to do. There’s a little bit of irritation…”
“Irritated was the word I was told, by the commissioner pushing them…so they decided to hold back,” added the insider.
Warriors Dealt Brutal News on Trade Target Amid LeBron James Drama