Los Angeles Lakers fans, if you’re ever feeling down, just take a deep breath and be thankful you aren’t a Denver Nuggets fan. Now, that may sound crazy at first. Over the last several years, they have won an NBA Championship and witnessed Nikola Jokic's dominance. However, they enter this offseason in cap hell and likely have to part with key contributors to save money for Peyton Watson.Â
With the Nuggets looking to shed salary, I whipped out the old trade machine and cooked up a theoretical trade that would benefit both teams.Â
The deal sees the Nuggets move up one spot and shed Camerom Johnson’s $23.1 million salary for next season. Given his mediocre defensive play and okay offensive production this past season, it feels like his value will likely be at an all-time low, especially when factoring in his price tag.
For LA, this is a great chance not to really lose their draft position. Plus, they get to land a high-level floor spacer to make life easier for Luka Doncic.
Moving back one spot and gaining Cam Johnson would be a huge Lakers win
It may be unusual to help a rival team like Denver, especially given that the goal of this deal for them is to save money to sign Watson, who is expected to be a Lakers target. However, it is tough to see an offer sheet where the Nuggets front office doesn’t do everything in their power to open up the cap so they can afford to pay their rising two-way wing.
In that case, why not take advantage of a desperate Denver team and bring in the type of player LA was desperately missing last season?
Even in what was viewed as a disappointing season for Johnson from a scoring standpoint, he would’ve still been a top-three 3-point shooter for LA last season. Johnson shot 43 percent from deep on over four attempts per game. The only Lakers who played in 30 or more games and shot better were Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard.
Speaking of Hachimura, he is expected to depart this offseason for a new home and chapter of his career, which is another reason why acquiring Johnson would be huge. From a defensive, rebounding, and playmaking standpoint, Johnson is a more well-rounded version of Hachimura.
Johnson isn’t going to be the point-of-attack defender LA has been searching for. Still, it does give them a more serviceable defensive player who still brings elite shooting next to Luka.
Trading back one spot from No. 25 to No. 26 wouldn’t kill this team in the least bit, and the players they’re going to be targeting will still likely be there. Moving back one spot to bring in one of the league's most consistent and prolific floor spacers is 100 percent something Rob Pelinka should consider this offseason.
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