Johnson would lift the Cavaliers into a tier of their own.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are winless in their last four games against the top three teams in both conferences. The most recent loss came on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics. The Cavs needed to space the floor to match Boston’s offense, but without Dean Wade in the lineup, that meant 25 minutes of Georges Niang.
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t didn’t go well due to Boston’s ability to target Niang defensively and outrebound him on the other end.
This isn’t a criticism of Niang as a player. This just isn’t a situation he’s suited for. The loss highlights just how overleveraged the Cavs are on Wade with limited options to replace him when he’s out of the lineup.
The Cavs have one of the best punches in the league with the Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen frontcourt. We’ve seen how that can work when they’re both playing their best against an elite team like in their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On the flip side, things can get out of hand quickly when they struggle as seen in their second game with the Thunder.
Playoff matchups are about throwing counterpunches. Right now, the Cavs can’t counter any of the best wing-heavy teams in the league. That’s a problem.
“Every series is different,” Atkinson said before the loss to Boston. “It might be a playoff series for not two bigs, but playing smaller. So [having two bigs] just gives you more versatility.”
Wade gives them the versatility to counter. There’s a reason the Cavs are 30-5 when he plays and 10-5 when he doesn’t. The issue is that Cleveland’s championship ceiling shouldn’t be reliant completely on someone who has had his injury history and shaky performances in previous playoff runs.
This is where Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson comes in.
Johnson isn’t the defender that Wade is, but his ability to comfortably play both the three and four would give Cleveland the optionality that Wade does. He’s split his time almost evenly between both throughout his career while having success at either position due to his size and athleticism.
Johnson isn’t a lockdown defender, but he is an incredible offensive player who is a good off-ball mover. He’s in the 100th percentile for points per shot attempt (1.34) for a forward. This is due to being an excellent finisher at the rim (70%) and from three (41.9%). As someone who’s been a career role player, his game shifts well up and down which is ideal for a team with the ballhandlers Cleveland has.
The price for Johnson is the issue.
There’s reason to believe the Cavs don’t have what it takes to get a deal done for Johnson. Reports indicate that the Nets want two firsts and a young player for Johnson which is an asking price the Cavs can’t meet due to them only having one moveable first in 2031. However, the market likely isn’t what Sean Marks thinks it is.
Johnson’s salary — although more than fair at $23.6 million this season — isn’t one that easily fits into most contenders’ salary cap. The asking price, and the fact that he isn’t an All-Star level player, makes him out of reach for teams that are more than a few pieces away from competing.
The Nets could choose to go into the summer and try to move Johnson then, but there’s no guarantee the market will look any different then. Brooklyn tried to move him last summer and couldn’t find anyone to meet their asking price. They also found out this deadline with Dorian Finney-Smith that holding onto someone for too long doesn’t always result in getting a better package.
If that’s the case, a Cleveland package that consists of their 2031 first, Jaylon Tyson, and Caris LeVert may be the best they could give. That move is much more worth it even though it would lock you into this roster and move on from a cost-controlled promising young player like Tyson.
Cleveland may be able to get a lesser version of Johnson with De’Andre Hunter which could cost less. Although it would still be helpful, it doesn’t move the needle the same way.
Hunter has some of the attributes Johnson does. He’s a great outside shooter and can play both the three and the four. The issue is he’s a less efficient offensive player and doesn’t scale as well to playing the four due to not being as impactful of a rebounder. As demonstrated on Tuesday against Boston, rebounding is a major concern for this team when they shift to smaller lineups.
This isn’t to say adding Hunter wouldn’t be useful. It would be extremely impactful and what the team needs. But if getting either is a viable option, you’d rather go all in and get the better version of the player you need.
The Cavaliers have a chance to win a title this season. They’ve shown that through 50 games. They’ve also seen that they’re close, but can’t consistently beat the very best teams in the league because of their lack of optionality with their lineups.
Championship-contending windows aren’t guaranteed. Opportunities that are there in one season won’t necessarily be there in the next. You have to push all your chips to the middle when you have your shot to do so.