The upcoming trade deadline is all the rage in the NBA, with rumors and speculation flying left and right. One team that is constantly in the national spotlight, for reasons that remain unclear, is the Lakers, with fans and media loving to wishcast players heading to LA to play with Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
On a recent episode of the Kevin O’Connor Show, KOC and his guest, Jason Timpf, discussed teams with disappointed fanbases, and of course, they came to the Lakers. Timpf and O’Connor both agreed that LA needs shooting, athleticism, and a big man going forward, with no clear path to acquiring any.
One idea that was floated on the show was for the Nuggets to offload Cam Johnson this offseason so they can afford to pay Peyton Watson in restricted free agency. P-Wat has emerged as a budding star this season, and someone that Denver must do everything in their power to maintain after failing to reach an extension with him last summer.
The Nuggets chose to extend Christian Braun instead, and now they’re looking at paying almost $190 million next season to five players. Considering we know they don’t want to go over the second apron, we know that cost-cutting moves are coming no matter what, and if they want to keep Watson - which they should - it’s going to require a sizable salary going out.
Cam Johnson could become cap casualty after the season
Realistically, unless something catastrophic happens, the Nuggets aren’t going to move Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, or Aaron Gordon, so for double-digit salaries next year, that only leaves Johnson and Braun.
Braun has been disappointing so far this season and has battled a tough ankle injury, but he has proven to be a strong two-way player who should be able to help the team for many years to come. Cam has fit in well and could be a perfect role player in Denver as well, but it has quickly become clear that Watson, who is six years younger, has a much higher ceiling.
The idea that the Nuggets are going to willingly help the hated Lakers, and salary dump a good player, in his prime, to a “rival” is not going to make Nuggets fans happy, and let’s hope it’s not something they would actually do unless they were compensated significantly.
But trading Johnson has become a very reasonable outcome, and it’s something that needs to be on the radar come summertime. With Watson’s emergence, he has become a vital part of this team, and someone they cannot afford to let him get away after the season he’s having.
Hopefully, the front office is able to get creative and find a way to keep everyone together, but this is the type of scenario that fans need to be prepared for.