In what was expected to hold colossal changes, the 2024 offseason has stayed oddly quiet for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Alongside the reigning champions Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers are the only Eastern Conference team preparing to run it back next season with the same squad. Cleveland's choice to avoid any major changes is questionable at best, but the front office has still successfully won the coaching search wars against the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons and has signed multi-year extensions with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
Cleveland's depth chart is incomplete and shallow on the wing, but the Cavs have a solid core in place and a commitment from All-Star Darius Garland after endless trade speculation stirred the offseason. With a new head coach in Kenny Atkinson in place, the Cavaliers' offseason could be over, but reports suggest there may still be changes to come.
Cavaliers are still interested in key trade target
Throughout the summer, the Cavs have repeatedly been linked to Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Cameron Johnson in reports. According to Hoops Wire, Cleveland's interest has not disappeared. The path to get Johnson is treacherous, though, with the Cavs' limited trade resources and Johnson's expensive price tag of $23.6 million next season.
Johnson and the Nets missed the playoffs last season and kickstarted a long-anticipated rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges in a historic deal to the New York Knicks. The 28-year-old veteran forward has not formally requested a trade, but Brooklyn has been fielding offers for Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith over the past year. The asking price is seemingly high, though, as nothing has manifested yet, and the Nets seem content to keep both players on payroll.
When asked about his future in Brooklyn, Johnson said "I'll just let whatever happens happen... If I'm staying in Brooklyn, then I'm all in, excited to play... and that's where my head's at right now. I'm on the Brooklyn Nets right now."
Johnson's commitment to the team suggests the Nets do not have any pressure to move on unless the right deal is at hand. Johnson's career 39.2 percent from deep has made him an ideal perimeter target across the NBA as contending squads load up on tall wings with a reliable jump shot. The Cavaliers have been linked to Johnson most often this summer, but the complications in Isaac Okoro's restricted free agency and the NBA's sign-and-trade restrictions have quieted the storm thus far.