With the Feb. 6 trade deadline two days away, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly don’t have a lot of motivation to make a trade. No team in the NBA has a better record than the Cavaliers at 40-9, and since Cleveland endured a three-game losing streak in late January, the squad has responded by winning each of its past four contests.
Still, if the Cavaliers do pull the trigger on a trade between now and Thursday afternoon, Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson sticks out as a “realistic” option, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“So I guess this goes back to Cam Johnson is realistic from the Cavs’ standpoint because his number is not 30 to 35 to $40 million,” Fedor said of Johnson’s contract. “It’s one that fits within the parameters that they would be comfortable getting to. It fits within the parameters of the types of players that they would be more willing to actually consider moving in a deal if they feel like the player coming back is worth it enough for them.”
Johnson won’t make more than $22.5 million in any one season for the duration of his current contract. He is set to hit unrestricted free agency following the 2026-27 campaign.
The 28-year-old was linked to the Cavaliers in trade rumors earlier in the year as well. The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reported in January that rival officials think Cleveland’s interest in Johnson is “more serious” than the team merely doing its due diligence on his availability.
The Cavaliers have depth at every position, but the team’s weakest position might be small forward. The squad has experimented with starting a number of players alongside Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley this season, and Max Strus has recently been the team’s starting small forward.
However, Johnson stands out as a clear upgrade over Strus on paper. It’s worth noting that Johnson has spent his entire NBA career playing the power forward position, but he seemingly has the versatility necessary to play either forward spot.
The acquisition of Johnson would make the Cavaliers’ starting five even more lethal on the offensive end of the floor. He’s averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3-point range in 35 games played with the Nets this season.
But trading for a player of Johnson’s caliber could potentially see the Cavaliers’ depth take a hit. Cleveland’s strength in numbers has been key to the team’s incredibly successful campaign, and there are 11 players on the team who are averaging 18-plus minutes of playing time per game thus far.
