The issue is the Cavs likely don’t have what it takes to acquire Johnson.
Believing in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ core four is justifiable. Believing in the roster around them isn’t. The Cavs have long needed a shooter who could comfortably play both small forward and power forward. Cam Johnson of the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets is the exact type of player they need.
Johnson would be the ideal bridge between the undersized backcourt and the oversized, non-shooting frontcourt. He’s a career 39.2% three-point shooter which includes connecting on 44% from the corner. Last season, Johnson converted 45.8% from the corner which put him in the 86th percentile for forwards. Sam Merrill was the only Cavalier to shoot a better percentage on corner threes last season (46.5%) and was one of only two other Cavaliers, Dean Wade and Darius Garland, to shoot 40% or better on that shot. Johnson was able to do this at a high volume as 18% of his attempts came from the corner (60th percentile).
Johnson isn’t a self-creator, 78% of his makes last season were assisted, but he is an excellent playmaker given his lack of juice off the dribble. Johnson assisted on 13% of Brooklyn’s field goals last season when he was on the court (76th percentile). He was able to do that by making quick decisions within one or two dribbles of getting the ball.
Johnson has also done an excellent job of using the gravity he can create as a shooter to find open lanes for teammates.
While he doesn’t create separation off the dribble, Johnson does have a good enough handle to effectively run pick-and-rolls and attack closeouts. He’s a solid rim finisher (65% last season) when attacking in these situations.
The positional versatility Johnson could provide is what’s most needed for Cleveland. The Cavs have long tried to force guys like Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert, and Cedi Osman into the small forward position even though their skill sets are more naturally suited for shooting guard. Johnson is naturally a three, but can easily shift up to power forward.
Johnson spent 45% of his minutes last season at the three and 50% at the four. The Nets ran smaller lineups more than most, but this is how his minutes have been distributed since coming into the league with the Phoenix Suns. It is worth noting that Brooklyn rebounded worse with him at power forward than they did with him at small forward which is mostly in line with the rest of his career.
It’s easy to see how this player would fit in with the Cavs and their core four. He would likely start the three and could serve as the power forward in lineups with just one big. This would give Kenny Atkinson the ability to close games with just one big if the matchup called for it.
The issue with Johnson is his availability and how the Cavs could go about acquiring him. Johnson has played in over 65 games once in his five-year career. This includes combining for just 100 games the past two seasons. That is far from ideal.
The Cavs will also have an issue trading for Johnson. They have very few tradeable assets outside of their core four. Moving Jarrett Allen for Johnson would be a sizeable talent downgrade, but finding a deal that didn’t include Allen is difficult.
Cleveland can’t move a first-round pick until 2031. They can trade Jaylon Tyson, but not until 30 days after he signed. The other options that could be moved are Caris LeVert, Max Strus, and second-round picks. A deal involving those assets likely doesn’t interest Brooklyn.
There is also Okoro’s unrestricted free agency. The Nets are over the cap and can only offer Okoro the mid-level exception which the Cavs would likely meet. Their only way of acquiring Okoro would be through a sign and trade. Okoro, 23, would fit their timeline much better than Johnson, 28. How Brooklyn feels about Okoro would likely determine whether or not a deal for Johnson could be reached. As of now, there isn’t any indication that Brooklyn has an interest in Okoro.
The Cavs need an upgrade on the wing but have very few ways of actually doing it. Wings that fit, like Johnson, aren’t good enough to move for a member of the core four. Someone like Brandon Ingram, who’s good enough in a vacuum to move for Allen, doesn’t fit cleanly on the court and will be owed a sizeable contract extension.
The Cavs can’t rely on just internal improvement and a coaching change. There’s too many overlapping skillsets between the top players and not enough connective tissue with the supporting cast to make it work. Johnson is theoretically a perfect fit, but he may be out of Cleveland’s price range.
