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According to The Ringer, the Pistons are shopping and Cam Johnson is a possible target.
Is the NBA title just a Cam Johnson away?
In the age of the second apron, finding a feasible trade for Jimmy Butler is like combing through tax code on a tightrope. Finding one for Johnson, by contrast, is refreshingly straightforward. The Nets’ 28-year-old wing is about as plug-and-play as it gets: He has a quick-fire 3-point stroke (43 percent on high volume), the ability to attack closeouts, and good size on the perimeter. Just as important, he makes Kyle Kuzma money and is under contract for two seasons after this one, which widens the pool of potential suitors significantly.
Johnson has emerged as the clear top player on the trade market (non-Butler division), and it seems like damn near half the league is interested. The Kings have surged back into the play-in picture, while Keegan Murray’s stalled development and the integration of midrange maven DeMar DeRozan have left them thin on the wing and starved for shooting. The Pacers, also trending upward, are forever in pursuit of players who can run-and-gun next to Tyrese Haliburton and hold their own on defense—and Johnson fits the bill. After discovering the miracle of spacing, the Pistons are .500 and looking to consolidate their gains. Dallas is reportedly wing hunting again, one year after trading for P.J. Washington.
Indeed, last season’s deal for Washington, and Dallas’s concurrent trade for Daniel Gafford, loom over the Johnson sweepstakes. The Mavericks were eighth in the West at the time, but those seemingly marginal upgrades solidified the roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and propelled them to the 5-seed—and then all the way to the Finals. As The Ringer’s Zach Kram illustrated earlier this season, championship-altering in-season trades are on the rise; in the NBA’s age of parity, the right trade at the right time can make a good team scary.
Johnson is more accomplished than Washington and Gafford were a year ago, but it’s easy to imagine him as the proverbial “missing piece” for two young contenders angling to become something more: the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. Both squads are in the midst of impressive regular-season runs, but cracks are magnified in the playoffs. For the Cavs, Johnson would answer the defining question of the Donovan Mitchell era by bridging the gap between their star guard duo and their twin towers frontcourt. For the Grizzlies—who were interested in Dorian Finney-Smith before the Lakers acquired him—Johnson would lessen their reliance on standout rookie Jaylen Wells and provide a rock-solid 3-and-D option to round out the starting five. The Nets’ asking price is bound to be high, but if recent history is any indication, Johnson might be the kind of player who’s worth the investment. —Isaac Levy-Rubinett
In the age of the second apron, finding a feasible trade for Jimmy Butler is like combing through tax code on a tightrope. Finding one for Johnson, by contrast, is refreshingly straightforward. The Nets’ 28-year-old wing is about as plug-and-play as it gets: He has a quick-fire 3-point stroke (43 percent on high volume), the ability to attack closeouts, and good size on the perimeter. Just as important, he makes Kyle Kuzma money and is under contract for two seasons after this one, which widens the pool of potential suitors significantly.
Johnson has emerged as the clear top player on the trade market (non-Butler division), and it seems like damn near half the league is interested. The Kings have surged back into the play-in picture, while Keegan Murray’s stalled development and the integration of midrange maven DeMar DeRozan have left them thin on the wing and starved for shooting. The Pacers, also trending upward, are forever in pursuit of players who can run-and-gun next to Tyrese Haliburton and hold their own on defense—and Johnson fits the bill. After discovering the miracle of spacing, the Pistons are .500 and looking to consolidate their gains. Dallas is reportedly wing hunting again, one year after trading for P.J. Washington.
Indeed, last season’s deal for Washington, and Dallas’s concurrent trade for Daniel Gafford, loom over the Johnson sweepstakes. The Mavericks were eighth in the West at the time, but those seemingly marginal upgrades solidified the roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and propelled them to the 5-seed—and then all the way to the Finals. As The Ringer’s Zach Kram illustrated earlier this season, championship-altering in-season trades are on the rise; in the NBA’s age of parity, the right trade at the right time can make a good team scary.
Johnson is more accomplished than Washington and Gafford were a year ago, but it’s easy to imagine him as the proverbial “missing piece” for two young contenders angling to become something more: the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. Both squads are in the midst of impressive regular-season runs, but cracks are magnified in the playoffs. For the Cavs, Johnson would answer the defining question of the Donovan Mitchell era by bridging the gap between their star guard duo and their twin towers frontcourt. For the Grizzlies—who were interested in Dorian Finney-Smith before the Lakers acquired him—Johnson would lessen their reliance on standout rookie Jaylen Wells and provide a rock-solid 3-and-D option to round out the starting five. The Nets’ asking price is bound to be high, but if recent history is any indication, Johnson might be the kind of player who’s worth the investment. —Isaac Levy-Rubinett
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