NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets to prioritize Cam Johnson in free agency?
NBA Rumors: The Houston Rockets appear ready to make a big play for Cam Johnson in free agency.
Heading into free agency, one thing is quite clear for the Houston Rockets – they’re going to try and upgrade their roster in an attempt to make a tangible move up the Western Conference standings heading into next season. And that likely includes making a big move for a free agent during the summer.
The offseason isn’t even officially here yet and the Rockets have been linked to both James Harden and Jaylen Brown. While those would be excellent additions, I think it’s safe to say that they’re also both pipe dreams.
There are other free agents that are more realistic targets that the Rockets could put the full press on. For the Rockets to land Harden or Brown, they would need a lot of things to fall in place. Houston simply can’t rely on that.
According to a recent report, one of those more realistic free-agent targets could be Cam Johnson who will be a restricted free agent after he was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn at the NBA Trade Deadline.
The Houston Rockets could target Cam Johnson in free agency
After the trade deadline, Johnson averaged 17 points and five rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range with the Nets. He was a key piece of the trade package that landed the Suns Kevin Durant and appears to be a big part of Brooklyn’s future.
However, if the Rockets throw a big-money deal in Johnson’s direction, there’s no guarantee that the Nets will match it. And considering the Rockets will be looking for a veteran piece to help expedite the team’s rebuild, Johnson is a player that could make sense.
He’s just 27 years old but could fill a need for the Rockets on the wing. Of course, if the Rockets invest too much time in their pursuit of Johnson, they could miss out on other unrestricted free agents. It could be worth it, though, if they end up landing Johnson or perhaps even work a sign-and-trade to get a deal done.
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Either way, it’s something to keep an eye on heading into the offseason. And it’s particularly interesting considering we don’t exactly know what the Nets are going to do this summer. From the Rockets’ perspective, though, it does seem like they’re going to be aggressive in upgrading the roster.