Sports
NBA Trade Rumors: Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith Linked to Cavs amid Nets Buzz – Bleacher Report
The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly may be in the market for one of the Brooklyn Nets forwards rumored to be available in trade talks this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Cavs have interest in acquiring either Cam Johnson or Dorian Finney-Smith from the rebuilding Nets on the heels of Brooklyn sending Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster deal.
One potential stumbling block, as mentioned by Lowe, is that the Cavaliers have only one first-round pick available to trade, that being a 2031 selection.
With Brooklyn trading away its best player in Bridges, it is widely assumed that the Nets will be content to trade other key pieces, bottom out and start from scratch in a rebuild.
If that proves to be true, Johnson and Finney-Smith figure to be two of the most highly sought-after players left on the roster.
Johnson, 28, arrived in Brooklyn during the 2022-23 season along with Bridges as part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.
The 6’8″ Johnson is a career 39.2 percent three-point shooter, making him the type of floor stretcher that teams covet.
Johnson set career highs during the 2022-23 season with averages of 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers made per game, and while he didn’t quite reach those numbers last season, he still averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 three-pointers made and 2.4 assists per contest, while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from deep.
The 31-year-old Finney-Smith was also acquired by the Nets during the 2022-23 campaign, but that was as part of the Kyrie Irving trade with the Dallas Mavericks.
The 6’7″ forward is coming off another solid season that was right in line with his career numbers, averaging 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 three-pointers made and 1.6 assists per game.
While Johnson is more offensively inclined, Finney-Smith does a little bit of everything, and either of them would be a solid addition to Cleveland’s roster.
Last season, the Cavs went 48-34 and they reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Barring a trade, the Cavaliers are set to return largely the same core from last season, including Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Max Strus.
They haven’t done much of anything to upgrade the roster yet, and while the team is undoubtedly good enough as it is to make the playoffs, it will likely need more to compete with the East’s top teams such as the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Knicks.
It is unclear if Johnson or Finney-Smith would put the Cavs over the top, but either of them would give new head coach Kenny Atkinson another quality player to play meaningful minutes in his rotation.