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The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams in the NBA that are assumed to be sellers after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and draft picks. Being that Brooklyn is clearly heading into a rebuild after making that trade, there are still surprisingly a few veterans left on the roster.
Two of the players that are still on the Nets’ roster are forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith leading to some in the NBA space, such as ESPN’s Zach Lowe, to be surprised that those players haven’t been traded to contenders yet. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that Johnson and Finney-Smith are among six players that are considered to be trade candidates at this point in time.
“I know they (Cleveland Cavaliers) would love to get another 3-and-D wing and obviously, the Brooklyn guys are still sitting out there,” Lowe said during a recent episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast. “I’m actually a little surprised that Cam Johnson and Finney-Smith, one of them has not been traded yet.”
The Cavaliers are one of the many teams in the Eastern Conference that are looking to keep pace with the Boston Celtics fresh off a championship win along with teams like the Knicks adding more perimeter depth. Since Johnson and Finney-Smith came to Brooklyn through trades during the 2022-23 season, there have been plenty of teams to show interest in either player.
As Lowe points out, it’s plausible that the reason a trade has not happened between Cleveland and Brooklyn is because the Cavaliers do not have a first-round pick to trade that would convey earlier than 2030. With Cleveland looking to add depth and the Nets looking to add young players and draft picks, there may not be enough for the teams to do business.
If the Cavaliers were willing to trade forward Jaylon Tyson, the 20th overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft, something could get done with that. However, time will tell if Cleveland is willing to play ball knowing that there isn’t much draft capital and young players for them to deal away.