The Cleveland Cavaliers go all-in for Cam Johnson
For the first half of the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been consistently the best team in the Eastern Conference. In fact, you can probably take this a bit step further and suggest they've been the best team in the entire NBA. Either way, the bottom line is that the Cavs are going to be one of the huge favorites to win it all heading into the start of the postseason. As the NBA Trade Deadline quickly approaches, it's only natural to wonder if there's a move that Cleveland should look to make to legitimize themselves as East contenders.
Considering how talented the Boston Celtics are and how difficult of an out the New York Knicks are probably going to be in a seven-game series, I'd strongly suggest the Cavs think long and hard about potentially making another addition to the roster at the deadline. One player who has been linked to the Cavs over the last few weeks is Cameron Johnson. Though the asking price would be high, this could be considered one of those "final pieces of the championship puzzle" types of moves for the franchise.
Why this trade should happen: When push comes to shove, I predict that the Cavs will choose to go all-in on the prospect of winning a championship this season. That means a player like Johnson could very much be on their radar over the next couple of weeks. A deal that would theoretically work revolves around Dean Wade, Jaylon Tyson, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and Cleveland's 2031 first-round pick. In exchange, they would get Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets.
My only concern with this deal getting done revolves around whether another team would offer the two first-round picks that Brooklyn is asking for. If that does end up being how this all plays out, there's a good chance that the Cavs could end up getting outbid. But I do believe Johnson would be a great fit in Cleveland as he would be able to effectively play off the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley.