The NBA Trade Deadline has dissolved into absolute chaos. Luka Doncic is now on the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs have De'Aaron Fox, and the Golden State Warriors are trying to trade for both LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, however, their top trade target remains available and on the market. Cameron Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets has long been the best and, truly, only player specifically linked to Koby Altman and the Cavaliers front office.
The question is whether the Cavaliers want to trade multiple rotation players plus assets to land a single non-star player. Is Johnson worth taking such a swing? We've debated the options back and forth for the past few weeks here at King James Gospel.
The Dunc'd On Basketball NBA Podcast conducts a "Mock Trade Deadline" each year that is the most accurate depiction of how negotiations take place and which moves are realistic around the league. We already referenced that exercise in looking at the offer the Cavs would have to beat in order to land Johnson if the Oklahoma City Thunder get involved.
What is the offer made from the Cavaliers? And if the Thunder don't throw in their hat, could it be good enough to bring Johnson to Cleveland? Most importantly, should the Cavaliers make this offer?
Let's take a close look at a realistic trade proposal and grade it from the Cavaliers' point of view.
Looking at a Cam Johnson trade
There are two primary components to building a Cameron Johnson trade offer for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first is what matching salary to us. Which of their rotation players are the Cavs willing to move off of to put together a package for Johnson? The Nets forward makes $22.5 million this season. To reach that number, the Cavaliers need at least two players involved. Caris LeVert and George Niang? Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson?
Part of that decision is whether the Cavaliers are trying to reduce their salary below the luxury tax line. If so, Cleveland will need to include a third team, as the Brooklyn Nets are right up against that line themselves.
The second component is the compensation heading back to the Nets. The salary chosen does play into this; Caris LeVert and Dean Wade are positive players on their contracts, while Isaac Okoro and Georges Niang are more middling value.
Does Cleveland offer Jaylon Tyson to give the Nets a young player to develop? Do they send the 2031 first-round pick? A 2030 first-round swap? That's essentially all that the team can offer; a final proposal likely includes two of those assets.
Here is the deal proposed by Dunc'd On's Dan Feldman during the Mock Trade Deadline:
The Nets get back two premium assets in Jaylon Tyson and the 2031 pick, although there is a dash of uncertainty with the Top-4 protection. Max Strus is also a solid player under contract whom they can look to flip to another team this offseason and thus get even more value back. Isaac Okoro is under contract next season but at a modest number and is young enough that Brooklyn may even choose to keep him around.
So this deal is reasonable for Brooklyn to accept, depending on the other offers they get back. If they want "two assets" this deal provides that, plus brings in positive (if long-term) matching salary.
What about the Cavaliers? Is this price worth paying?
Grading the Trade for the Cavaliers
Let's look at the starting lineup and rotation after the Cavaliers move on from two rotation players in this deal.
Starting Lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Cameron Johnson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Bench: Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Georges Niang
Deep Bench: Craig Porter Jr., Dariq Whitehead, Tristan Thompson
This deal obviously scoops away some of this team's depth, but that's what a consolidation trade is. The Cavs would be an attractive destination for buyout candidates and would be eligible to sign anyone who hits the market, even using some of their Mid-Level Exception to win a bidding war. If Kevin Love or D'Angelo Russell or Bruce Brown hit the market, the Cavaliers could further beef up their bench.
Johnson immediately provides a shooting dynamo in the starting lineup without sacrificing size, and between Garland, Johnson and Merrill the Cavaliers can consistently field elite shooters at all times. Most of the game Johnson can be playing stretch-4 alongside either Allen or Mobley, and the Cavs can have Dean Wade and Caris LeVert defending the opponent's best wing.
The defensive side of this deal is a major stress. The starting group is worse defensively, whether Johnson is replacing Max Strus or Dean Wade, and losing Isaac Okoro takes a real weapon out of Kenny Atkinson's arsenal. That may not matter as much facing the Boston Celtics, but slowing down Jalen Brunson or Damian Lillard is now much more difficult.
The asset cost is also quite high, all the more considering how well Jaylon Tyson has played when given the opportunity this season. This essentially empties their clip of assets for two years. Is this the group the Cavaliers want to go to war with? What if it doesn't work? Adding another player would be extremely difficult.
This is fair value for Johnson, but he is not an ideal fit for what the Cavaliers truly need, which is a two-way forward with real defensive chops. The Cavaliers are already an elite shooting team; Johnson improves on a strength but doesn't address a weakness.
In the end, this is a deal the Cavaliers may want to pass on; their current group is good enough to contend right now, and another few months gives them more data on just how good Jaylon Tyson is.
Grade: B-