NBA Rumors: The Oklahoma City Thunder could be looking to make a big splash move ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, with Cam Johnson in their sights.
Even after losing Chet Holmgren early on in the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have emerged as the most consistent team in the Western Conference. At the turn of the calendar, the Thunder are 26-5 and have a five-game lead in the standings. But even with their extremely hot start to the year, this is a team that could still marquee move away from legitimizing themselves as a true championship favorite in the NBA. The Thunder may know this and could be preparing to make such a move at the NBA Trade Deadline.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, there have been rumblings across the league that the Thunder are interested in pursuing a deal for Cam Johnson. While it's unclear if those talks or if the interest is still active, there's a reason to believe that if this move were to happen it would make Oklahoma City a strong contender in the West. In fact, I would go on to say that the Thunder would immediately emerge as a favorite in the conference with Johnson.
What Cam Johnson would add to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
While it's still far from a certainty from coming to fruition, if the Thunder did make a move for Johnson, it would certainly help evolve the team's dynamic - especially on the offensive end of the floor. Johnson would bring some legitimacy offensively on the wing. When the game slows down in the postseason, it'd be much easier for the Thunder to lean on a more than capable third or fourth option on the offensive sense such as Johnson compared to the likes of Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort (who are better suited focusing on the defensive end of the floor).
While the Thunder would lose some depth with such a move in their attempts to match salaries, there's no question that the addition of Johnson would help make the Thunder an even stronger championship contender in the West. With the way the rest of the West continues to beat itself up, you'd have to imagine that a splash move for Johnson could end up making a big difference in whether the Thunder are able to make the champioship jump or not.
Over the next few weeks, I'd imagine this is a move that the Thunder will strongly weigh. Whether they will end up making such a move remains to be seen, but it has to be considered extremely appealing for a Thunder team that may view themselves as one piece away from winning a championship.