NBA Rumors: Playing the buy or sell game with the 10 juiciest and way-too-early offseason rumors.
The official start of the NBA offseason is still roughly three-plus months away. However, with just a quarter of the regular season remaining, there are already many teams and front offices preparing for what could end up being a chaotic offseason. Even though the NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone, there remain some unanswered questions. That has led to a pretty healthy dose of NBA whispers (or rumors) that are still circulating.
Most of them will remain unresolved until the offseason, but it's never too early to begin to speculate. As we inch closer to the offseason, we play the "Buy" or "Sell" game with 10 of the juiciest and premature offseason rumors.
The Brooklyn Nets will trade Cameron Johnson
The rumor: For the past few months, Cameron Johnson has been one of the most popular trade block candidates. The Brooklyn Nets didn't pull the trigger at the trade deadline, but the opportunity to move on from Johnson will likely come up once again during the offseason.
Heading into the final few weeks ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, there was a strong belief that the Brooklyn Nets were going to trade Cameron Johnson. However, with a reportedly high asking price, the right deal never came across the table for the Nets. But just because the Nets held on to him beyond the trade deadline, that doesn't mean that will continue to be the case during the offseason.
In fact, I'd predict that it's a pretty safe assumption that the Nets will trade Johnson between now and the start of next season. Brooklyn is not going to be in a desperate place to trade Johnson, considering he has two years remaining on his contract after this season, but it would make sense for the Nets to trade him sooner rather than later (especially if they're looking to get the most value out of a deal).
In the end, I just can't imagine the Nets are going to want to head into next season playing the "will they or won't they" trade game with Johnson again leading up to the trade deadline. I believe it makes the most sense for the Nets to trade Johnson at some point during the offseason, and it probably makes the most sense at some point before, during, or shortly after the NBA Draft.