The Brooklyn Nets are officially tanking, and they are not even trying to hide it. They have lost six games in a row, they are 1-11 in their last 12, and they can’t even play motivated enough to win on Vince Carter’s retirement night. Some injuries have made things easier for the team to not put together winning performances. The buzz around the league is that once Jimmy Butler is out of Miami, Cam Johnson will be the next trade target. But will the Nets move him?
The Nets Are In No Rush To Trade Cam Johnson
The Brooklyn Nets have already made two trades so far, and they are in no rush to trade Johnson. They stripped the roster to a point where they can basically lose games by default. After the Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith trades, the Nets can now patiently wait for great offers.
Johnson is having a career year, averaging 19.4 points on almost 50/40/90 splits. In fact, his shooting percentages are 49.1% from the floor, 41.9% from three-point range, and 89.8% from the free-throw line. Those are star-caliber player stats, plus he is only 28 years old. Johnson has two or three years left of his prime, making him a valuable asset for a team that is almost there, but needs one more piece to contend.
Why the Nets Might Wait for a Cam Johnson Trade
The Brooklyn Nets made a trade this summer that signaled their intention to tank and rebuild. The trade, involving the Houston Rockets, helped them regain control of their draft pick in 2025 and 2026. They did gave more picks to Houston, but both teams were motivated to do the trade. The Nets wanted control over their draft future, while the Rockets wanted control of the Suns draft future going forward.
With the new timeline, the Nets have two years of being bad, and they can trade Johnson in the summer, or at the next year’s trade deadline.
Their timeline for rebuilding extended in the summer, and now, they can even go a different route this summer. They will be the team with the most cap space, and if they choose to use it, they can keep Johnson if they manage to get stars to come play in Brooklyn. He is on a team-friendly contract paying him $22.5 million this year, $20.5 next year, and $22.5 for the 2026-27 season. At the end of his contract, Johnson will be 31 years old, still a good age for a forward with his skill set.
Brooklyn also has picks and assets coming in from other teams, and they have all the reasons to wait patiently.
Can Any Team Make a Godfather Offer?
Most reports suggest that the Brooklyn Nets want two first-round picks in a Cam Johnson trade. There don’t want to lower that asking price. Instead, with more teams trying to bid for the forward, that price might go even higher. Any team trying to get Johnson might have to make an offer the Nets cannot refuse. Lately, there has been little buzz around Johnson. That might be because he is injured and not playing, or maybe teams are waiting for other dominos to fall. Or, maybe, just maybe, the Nets have raised the price, and not many teams are interested in paying it.
Cam Johnson has no shortage of suitors, including the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, and possibly the Orlando Magic. All of them can offer two first-round picks, swaps, and good players. The question is, whether one of them will actually do it. We will have to wait until the February 6 trade deadline to find out. Even if nobody is offering that steep price, the Nets will be happy to explore the market again in the summer, or at next year’s deadline.
They should get their ship in the right direction by the 2026-27 season. Otherwise, Houston holds the right to swap picks in 2027, which can make the rebuild harder.
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