It’s clear that the Golden State Warriors need roster upgrades if they’re going to get back to the level of a true Championship contender in the Western Conference. Fortunately for them, it’s very possible Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets could be available this summer.
If you’re the Warriors, you simply can’t go into next season with the same roster you have right now and expect to be among the top three or four teams in the standings by the end of the season. The Western Conference is way too loaded for you to have a reasonable expectation that Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, especially at their advanced ages, can lead you deep in the playoffs by themselves. The Warriors need a much deeper roster around them.
The name of the game in the NBA these days is depth. Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are currently dominating the playoffs. What do they have? They have a plethora of versatile players that can affect the game in multiple ways. They have strong defenders and connective offensive players.
Building that kind of roster is how you weather the storm of playing a Denver Nuggets team with championship DNA for seven games. The Thunder were massively under-matched from an experience standpoint, and yet they still came away with the series win against Nikola Jokic and company because of their depth.
Cam Johnson would fit like a glove on the Warriors
This is an excellent blueprint for the Golden State Warriors to follow moving forward. Yes, you still have Stephen Curry as your best player and Jimmy Butler as a secondary offensive engine. But beyond them, management should be looking to fill out the rest of the roster with that same kind of supporting cast.
When you talk about Cam Johnson, he’s the quintessential high-level three-and-D player. Johnson is going to be useful pretty much wherever you put him on the floor, and there’s a variety of lineups where his talent can thrive.
Put simply, Cam Johnson is an ideal player to place around the likes of Curry and Butler. He’s going to move off ball and keep the floor spaced with his deep shooting ability. On top of that, he’s always cutting and has the athletic ability to make plays on the interior. Defensively, Johnson can play all over the floor.
The reality is that Cam Johnson will make life significantly easier for the Warriors’ best players. Golden State’s bench is simply a bit thin right now, and we saw that on display during the semifinal series with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Adding a high level role player like Johnson would get the Warriors much closer to having another chance at getting Steph his fifth championship.
