The Los Angeles Lakers opened the NBA Emirates Cup group stage on a high note, notching a 120-115 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
The win also improved the Lakers’ record to 8-4 on the 2024-25 campaign, which is good enough for fifth in the Western Conference as of Saturday morning.
Even though the Lakers are thriving under head coach JJ Redick, there’s always room for improvement — especially if winning another NBA Championship is the end goal this season.
This season’s trade deadline isn’t for another couple of months, however, that isn’t stopping one insider from linking Los Angeles to a potential target.
Lakers Trade Rumors: Los Angeles to Target Cam Johnson?
The Athletic’s Johan Buha has identified Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson as a potential trade target for the Lakers during his latest mailbag video on YouTube.
“I think Cam (Johnson) would be a great fit with the Lakers,” Buha said, adding that it all depends on the draft capital that the franchise would have to give up to acquire the veteran.
The former North Carolina product is in the middle of the second season of a four-year, $94.5 million contract he signed with the Nets in July 2023.
The Nets are currently 5-9 and fighting for a Play-In Tournament spot, meaning it wouldn’t be shocking if they tried to trade veteran players like Johnson. The 6-foot-8 forward is one of Brooklyn’s best players and could net Brooklyn a decent return, whether that’s from Los Angeles or elsewhere.
Johnson has been experiencing a career year in 2024-25, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the Lakers are interested in his services. The ex-2019 first-rounder is averaging a career-high 16.5 points on .462/.367/.897 splits while also tallying 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.7 steals in 13 games.
As solid as Johnson has been this season, Buha doesn’t think the Lakers should overpay in any potential trade with the Nets — especially if it means giving up someone like Rui Hachimura.
The ex-Gonzaga forward is averaging 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from deep in his first season under Redick’s guidance.
“If the price is (Hachimura) for (Johnson), you can talk me into but I’m not sold,” Buha confessed. “I’m not sure that Cam is that much of an upgrade depending on the draft capital required (for a deal).”
As beloved as Hachimura is in Los Angeles, the Lakers don’t have a ton of options to trade for Johnson.
The Nets forward currently carries a $23.6 million cap hit, per Spotrac, meaning the Lakers would likely need to trade some combination of Hachimura ($17 million), Gabe Vincent ($11 million), and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million) to make the financial situation work.
Time will tell how potentially acquiring Johnson would impact the franchise’s championship outlook.
In the meantime, FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the Lakers tied for owning the 10th-best 2024-25 NBA Finals odds (+2800).
