Joe Johnson, Buy Out Candidate, Perfect Cavs Fit?

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly looked into trading for Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Joe Johnson this offseason. With his huge contract, the Cavs would have had to deal both Anderson Varejao and Brendan Haywood‘s contract, along with whatever value the Nets wanted, to get Johnson. Now, with the Cavs turning Haywood’s contract into a Traded Player Exception, the Cavs cannot trade for Johnson.

Joe could be bought out later this season, however, which would give the Cavs another shot at the veteran wingman, as noted in this ESPN discussion:

"There are some folks around the league who wonder if the Nets would consent to buying out Johnson after the Feb. 18 trade deadline if they can’t move him. The Nets would naturally dismiss any such suggestions, given that they have no other choice but to try to win as many games as they can before sending their unprotected 2016 top pick to Boston. But they also frequently insisted that they wouldn’t buy out Deron Williams before ultimately doing so."

Another expert noted that Cleveland makes sense for Johnson next year, so we can assume the same thing for this year if he is bought out:

"Cleveland, for instance, already considered trading for him, and his former Atlanta coach, Larry Drew, is on the staff."

Obviously this all depends on Johnson and the Nets coming to a buy out. The Nets could save some money as a part of the buyout while Johnson, who has made a ton of coin in his career, gets a chance to compete for an NBA Title. Johnson would likely have to give up a good amount of salary, at least a million dollars, to make it worth it to the team.

The Nets would only have financial reasons to make the deal, as noted in the ESPN piece, because they would not benefit from tanking.

The Cavs on the other hand would love to get ahold of Johnson without having to trade any pieces off their roster. They could simply release the non-guaranteed contract of Jared Cunningham to sign Johnson.

The Cavs would obviously have some competition for Johnson but, besides the Golden State Warriors who have a ton of wingmen, the Cavs give him the best option for a title.

Johnson would be an amazing option for the Cavs. He can play both the 2 and the 3 spots. He can backup LeBron James or start between James and Kyrie Irving. That would give the Cavs backups Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson coming off the bench. If Johnson comes off the bench, Smith or Shumpert would start.

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Johnson starting or coming off the bench are both good options.

This season Johnson is averaging his lowest scoring since ’02-03 at 11.1 with a career average of 17.1. He has been a very good defender as well with great size and strength for either position. At 34, much of his athleticism has been stripped by Father Time but he is still very talented.

The struggle for Johnson would be adjusting his role. Johnson has long been the main scoring option for his team. Ever since moving from the Phoenix Suns to the Atlanta Hawks, the offense has revolved around Iso-Joe. The Cavs offense is not isolation based at the purest form.

Can Johnson adjust his game around LeBron, Irving and Kevin Love? Are there enough shots to go around with Mo and J.R. also in the backcourt? Is Johnson able