Adam Armbrecht here, the host of the daily Locked On Nets podcast, with your daily Locked On Nets newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Nets and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
Trade Chatter: Cleveland Cavs an Option for Cam Johnson
Jan 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jaylon Tyson (24) drives against Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards (4) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard/David Richard-Imagn Images
Everyone knows Cam Johnson will be a highly sought-after trade target as the February 6th deadline approaches. While Oklahoma City remains, on paper, the strongest partner - plenty additional suitors are coming to the table. Looking across the league the balance of young talent, draft assets, and cap flexibility will be the key factors for GM Sean Marks in any negotiations. With that, let’s look at trade options that may take a bit more work, but could serve Brooklyn better in the long run.
Cleveland Cavs: A team that was speculated to possibly trade Donovan Mitchell away last year is now in the thick of Championship Contention. Adding a player like Cam Johnson, who would bring perimeter shooting, positional size, and defensive value, could be the piece to vault the Cavs into the NBA Finals discussion. What, however, can they offer Brooklyn?
Caris LeVert($16.6m/1yr), Jaylon Tyson($3.3m/4yr), 2031 First Round Pick, Second Round Picks in 2027, 2028, 2029
Old friend Caris LeVert returns to Brooklyn to play alongside DeAngelo. Russell once again! The more important aspect of his return is that his money will come off the ebooks after this year, which matters for the Nets who want to be as cap-flexible as possible.
Meanwhile, Jaylon Tyson has not seen much of. the NBA court in his young career. That said, he comes at a low cost and certainly showed growth across three seasons(and three schools) in college. He has size, and ball-handling ability and is only 22 years old.
Isaac Okoro is a name that both Nets fans and the Nets front office will want to bring up in these discussions. Would he be a part of Brooklyn’s future? That would certainly be a wait-and-see scenario. The Nets could look to pass through Okoro to a third team or pressure Cleveland to find additional first-round picks before calling on Cam Johnson.
This is a discussion worth having because Cleveland has a legitimate shot at the title this year. Much like when we look at Oklahoma City as a Cam Johnson trade partner, the opportunity inspires a willingness to pay or even overpay. Teams like Sacramento and potentially Indiana will also take their shot at landing the veteran wing, at least pushing the price point.
Unlike those two teams, the Cavs(34-5) could have a hard time disrupting their roster, even if it means bolstering the overall talent. In the end, I find it hard to believe the Nets. Move Johnson for less than two first-round picks. Even if looking at young talent, the Cavs probably cannot match the players other contending teams may be willing to offer as the deadline heats up.
Jan 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives for a shot past Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. | Bill Streicher/Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the rest of the NBA season could just be various instances spent listening to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander go WOOOO to varying decibels and degrees of excitement? It would be, to borrow from a master gone too soon, Lynchian.
If not that, then to watch the Thunder and Cavaliers play each other, over and over, until April 13th. I suspect we still wouldn’t have our fill of these two teams but don’t fret, we’d have a riveting seven game series. Each game a competitive and tight feast for the eyes.
To really get an understanding of how, though relentless pressuring and seamless switching, the Thunder have run away with the first overall defensive rating. That even against a team like Cleveland who pride themselves on the way they’re able to take care of the ball, and their communication skills, OKC can pluck the ball out of the hands of an opponent on a fastbreak, a drive, as if they were walking right up to a kid and taking candy from their hands.
Of course, this all makes it sound like watching these two teams in perpetuity is going to look heavily lopsided for the Thunder. The matchup last night was a wallop for the West, for sure, but Cleveland showed why they’ve been coolly leading the East and the entire league. Rainbow threes from Mitchell, light lobs over the heads of every Thunder player — just then upturned to watch — between Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, and fadeaway shots from the corner care of Max Strus.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Rumor Cam Johnson is viewed as the player most likely to be traded ahead of the 2025 deadline. Speculations about his future with the Brooklyn Nets are intensifying. (Bleacher Report)
Ranking The latest NBA power rankings highlight a statement week for the Thunder, while the Nets hold their own in the competitive landscape. (Bleacher Report)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Basketball News Roundup: The Tanking In Utah
Jan 11, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale/Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are taking tanking to a whole new level. The Jazz have been sitting players like John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, and Walker Kessler for various reasons. While I understand the incentives for tanking, the odds of getting the number one pick are not high. The NBA has been cracking down on teams resting healthy players, but these two franchises seem to be pushing the boundaries.
As a fantasy analyst, I’ve been advising people to avoid high picks from these teams due to the risk of shutdowns and reduced playing time. It’s frustrating to see this level of blatant tanking, especially when it impacts fantasy basketball managers.
The Memphis Grizzlies are another team to watch, with Ja Morant constantly appearing on the injury report. While they’re not tanking like Utah and Portland, Morant’s frequent injuries are concerning for fantasy managers.
In other news, Donte DiVincenzo is out with a toe sprain for the Knicks, which could lead to increased minutes for Mike Conley. However, I wouldn’t rush to add Conley in most leagues.
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Brooklyn Nets crushed by Clippers. One of the NBA’s worst losses of all-time The Nets got back into tanking mode in a big way on Wednesday, losing 126-67 to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was the 25th worst loss in an NBA game in the modern age, a testament to just how bad they were in this one.
Tank off? Brooklyn Nets beat Blazers with Cameron Johnson and D’Angelo Russell returning
Coming off a loss to the Utah Jazz in overtime, it looked like the Nets were gearing up for another tank-off loss against the Blazers in Portland.
Sean Marks signals the tank and Giannis on the Brooklyn Nets radar?
Sean Marks came out and basically laid it out what fans and the rest of the league already knew, that the Brooklyn Nets aren’t interested in winning many more games this season.
