The Los Angeles Lakers have added multiple wings to their roster this summer, even if they've missed out on Jonathan Kuminga (for better or worse). Quentin Grimes, Ziaire Williams, and Matisse Thybulle are all newcomers. So is Jaden Hardy, who is more of a guard but is athletic and strong enough to guard some wings. The Lakers also drafted a wing in Cameron Carr, and he'll probably be in the rotation right away.
That's looking like LA's final wing corps, unless Pelinka has one more trick up his sleeve. As a Lakers fan, are you satisfied with that depth chart? Should the Lakers have gone after Denver Nuggets wing Cameron Johnson? Lakers observers are divided on Johnson. Some feel like Pelinka should've gone after him hard, while others think such a pursuit would've been foolish.
I personally think that Johnson would've been a good addition. Not only can he shoot (pairs well with Luka Doncic), but he's 6-foot-8, and you need big wings to win in the NBA. The Lakers are counting on Grimes to be their defensive stopper on the wing, but he's only 6-foot-5.
Johnson is on an expiring contract. Trading for him could be seen as a risk in the sense that he's a one-year "rental", but I look at it another way entirely. If things didn't work out with Johnson, you could just move on from him at the end of the season and clear up some money. If things did pan out, you could re-sign him to a new deal. I don't see a ton of risk in that for a team that needs a wing of his profile. Unfortunately, it sounds like Johnson was never really available this offseason. No wonder Pelinka couldn't snag him!
New report indicates Nuggets weren't willing to trade Cam Johnson this offseason
NBA insider Michael Scotto over at HoopsHype reported this week that while multiple NBA squads reached out to the Denver Nuggets about Johnson this offseason, all of those teams were denied.
"Numerous teams have called the Denver Nuggets hoping they’d be willing to dump forward Cam Johnson, who’s owed $23.06 million in the final year of his contract, but those inquiries have been rebuffed, league sources told HoopsHype," Scotto wrote.
What would a Lakers-Cam Johnson trade even look like?
A Lakers package of Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia in exchange for Johnson works financially, but why would the Nuggets do that? Johnson is worth more to Denver next season than Vanderbilt and LaRavia would be combined. Even if LA threw in some draft capital, the Nuggets wouldn't bite.
Vanderbilt and LaRavia is really the only realistic package that LA could put together for Johnson, given that basically half of the Lakers roster at this point is comprised of players who can't currently be traded, since they were just signed. That may've not been the case earlier in the offseason when Pelinka was theoretically shopping for wings, but it's a moot point if Johnson was never available in the first place.
But hey, Johnson will be a free agent next summer! Let's have this discussion again then, assuming he has a better 2026-27 than 2025-26.
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