You may have thought Cam Johnson was on the trade block, but Brian Lewis writes two days before the deadline that the Nets are not ‘dangling’ him.
You might have thought that after the Brooklyn Nets traded Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith, coming away with six second rounders, D’Angelo Russell and a potential trade piece in DeAnthony Melton, that Sean Marks & co. would be pushing Cam Johnson on other teams. After all, there have been multiple reports of CJ headed everywhere and anywhere: Minnesota, Golden State, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, you name it.
Nope, writes Brian Lewis. As NetsDaily reported on Monday and Lewis reports Tuesday, the Nets are in receive mode. They’re taking calls, not making them. And that is particularly the case with Johnson, who is having his best year as a pro. Indeed, Lewis notes that in some cases, the rumor mill was just that, rumors, while the reality has been different.
Johnson was the veteran many expected to be moved next. He was linked to Golden State in a package to bring back Jonathan Kuminga, but sources told The Post that the Nets never discussed trading Johnson with the Warriors.
And another source has consistently told The Post that Brooklyn is not dangling Johnson.
“[The Nets] are not shopping [their] players, so there isn’t an asking price,” one source said.
Indeed, the Nets conversation with teams interested in Johnson appears simple: If you’re interested, we can talk. And as anyone who follows the trade traffic, there has been a drop-off in Johnson rumors of late.
Johnson, of course, has been injured of late but did participate in the team’s practice Monday. So his return sounds imminent. That might not be good for the tank, but Johnson may be part of the rebuild in a way other than propelling the Nets’ draft fortunes: providing a solid core piece, a building block at a reasonable salary who can attract others. Or … the Nets may believe his market will be higher for Johnson come July … as Lewis notes.
With the Lakers having added Dončić and Sacramento Zach LaVine — presumably taking both teams out of the market for perimeter help — Johnson might draw a better return in the summer. And he’s young enough to keep long-term.
Similarly. SNY’s Ian Begley reports that word around the league is that no team will give up what Nets want
The Nets’ biggest trade chip is Cam Johnson.Teams monitoring the situation this week didn’t think anyone would make an offer strong enough to acquire Johnson.
There are other Nets who might entice callers from the NBA unriverse like Day’Ron Sharpe, Nic Claxton or even DeAnthony Melton, who’s out for the season, but presents a $12.8 million contract. Lewis writes:
The Lakers had checked in on Sharpe when they acquired Finney-Smith and were rebuffed. And Clutch Points reported last week that the Lakers were high on the Nets’ backup, but Davis preferred a proven veteran like Jonas Valanciunas or Nikola Vucevic. Now Davis is in Dallas, and the Lakers’ plans are unclear. Would they re-engage on Sharpe? Call on Claxton? Who knows?
Sharpe, a restricted free agent, says he’s not worried.
“Actually, for me it’s easy to block out the [trade] noise,” Sharpe reporters at practice Monday. “You know, if I get the phone call, then I get the phone call. Other than that, it is what it is.”
Begley reports that one team with interest in Sharpe is the Clippers.
The Clippers are among the teams who’ve done background work on Sharpe, who will be a free agent this summer. I don’t know if the Nets and Clippers have had advanced talks on Sharpe, but I can safely assume teams will continue to call Brooklyn about the 23-year-old big man.
Melton is an interesting possibility. Under a quirk in the new CBA, he can be traded with another player in a bigger deal but only on Wednesday or Thursday, the trade deadline. So he could be a player in some larger multi-team deal, but it should also be noted that the Nets will not be taking on new money. They are $677,000 short of the luxury tax threshold and they are not going over it. Period.
Obviously, things can change in days or hours. Ask any Dallas Mavericks fan!
- Why the Luka Dončić shocker has the Nets on alert as trade deadline nears – Brian Lewis – New York Post