Subscribe
Follow Us
The Brooklyn Nets own four first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, including the eighth overall pick. Despite that, the team reportedly has interest in adding more lottery capital, and they are willing to include Cam Johnson in a trade to get that done. Moving above the eighth pick might not be easy, but adding an additional lottery pick is a realistic possibility.
The Spurs have two lottery picks this year, yet with the returns of De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama imminent, the Spurs will be looking to win sooner rather than later.
They might not have the rotation spots to develop two rookies, so perhaps the team would be willing to trade their 14th overall pick. Johnson could fit well in San Antonio, so what could a trade look like between the Spurs and Nets?
Spurs trade proposal for Cam Johnson
Spurs receive: Cam Johnson, pick No. 27 (2025 NBA Draft)
Nets receive: Harrison Barnes, pick No. 14 (2025 NBA Draft)
Both Johnson and Harrison Barnes are 3-and-D super role players, but Johnson is a big upgrade over Barnes, so the Spurs could be willing to sacrifice their second first-round pick for an improvement to that role in their offense. Johnson is coming off a career-high 18.8-point-per-game season, whereas Barnes has regressed to 12.3 points per game.
The Spurs have a speed demon in Fox and a do-it-all megastar center in Wembanyama. It would be smart to surround those two with a shooter like Johnson.
Article Continues Below
Additionally, Johnson is younger than Barnes, so he better fits the Spurs' timeline. San Antonio has other youngsters contributing key roles, such as Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Malaki Branham, and Stephon Castle, who just won the Rookie of the Year award.
Both Johnson and Barnes come at a similar price tag, but Johnson has an extra year of controllability on his contract.
The Western Conference is stacked, and although the Spurs might have the assets to trade for a superstar, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant, it wouldn't be a bad idea to save some of their tradable capital for later and pursue a roster upgrade like Johnson for now.
Would the Nets trade Cam Johnson away?
Johnson has been frequently in trade rumors since his arrival in Brooklyn. The Nets have undergone a massive rebuild that has seen them trade almost everybody of note away, except for Johnson and Nic Claxton. The mass blow-up stage of the rebuild is over, but Johnson is still on the block.
The team wants a star, which is why the Spurs have been linked to Antetokounmpo. Building a trade package big enough for the two-time MVP won't be easy, though, so the Nets might have to find their star a different way. The 2025 NBA Draft is much better than last year's class, and if the team could have two darts to throw within the lottery, their chances of finding a star aren't bad.
The Nets can't really walk away from draft night with three first-round picks outside of the top 14, so they'd be smart to consolidate some of their lesser draft capital for a better pick. In this deal, they walk away with Barnes, too. Barnes can play a similar role to Johnson and has winning experience, which will be vital as the team tries to take the next step forward.
