Throughout these first few months of the season, the OKC Thunder have found themselves at the center of trade rumors concerning multiple Brooklyn-based players. With their slew of draft capital and promising young prospects, many view them as the ideal partner for this tankathon Nets squad.
However, following Sunday's new break, time may be dwindling on Oklahoma City's chances to execute any sort of deal with the ball club.
As first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, Brooklyn has agreed to send Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round draft picks.
With this move, along with the Nets' early-December decision to send Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors, their number of presumed trade targets has rapidly reduced in size.
Now, it seems that the only player left for them to target is sharpshooting tweener forward Cameron Johnson and, based on Brooklyn's recent activity, Sam Presti and company may want to get a move on with some sort of trade negotiations.
Thunder must now strongly consider striking on Cameron Johnson trade
It is no secret that Brooklyn wants first-rounders in return in any trade involving Cam Johnson, but, per rumblings, they would also relax on the number of picks offered if a trade involves a young player with promise.
As of this writing, the Warriors are believed to be the favorites to land the 28-year-old. Fortunately, they do not have the draft capital nor the young, expendable talents that the Thunder could offer up for his services.
Johnson fills a ton of rotational and schematic holes that this Oklahoma City has. They're in desperate need of an elite three-point shooter who can also bring in size. This makes Johnson the perfect player and would fit right in with the team's style of offense.
This season, he is dropping a career-high 19.5 points while shooting 42.9 percent from long range.
Something else that makes Johnson a great fit is the experience he will bring, as he was a regular contributor on the Phoenix Suns team that made it to the finals a few years back.
Now, of course, in order for the Thunder to attain the likes of Cam Johnson they must figure out what kind of package would be worthwhile for Brooklyn to accept.
Two players that would likely be sought after in any hypothetical exchange are Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, though they cannot be traded until January 15th because of the new contracts they signed over the summer.
Both are young, promising players on long-term deals and showed serious potential aiding in winning basketball last season. The rise of both players was part of the reason the team finished as the number-one seed in the West in 2023-24.
The stipulations of their tradeability could be the under-the-radar reason why no deal involving Johnson has happened, as the Nets may be waiting for one of these two to become available in a package.
Along with adding a few of the treasure trove of picks the Thunder have at their disposal, there is no doubt a deal between the two teams can get done.
The Nets have what Oklahoma City wants. The Thunder have what Brooklyn wants. With everything that has already happened with the rebuilding squad in New York, a deal should be done sooner rather than later.