As the Los Angeles Lakers dive into the wing market this summer, they'll continue to monitor Denver Nuggets' Peyton Watson, who is a restricted free agent. Watson has often been described as the ideal target for the Lakers, given his youth, size, athleticism, defensive versatility, and ability to knock down 3s.
For all those reasons, however, the Nuggets likely want to retain Watson, and word on the street is that Denver might be scheming to trade its other wings, Cameron Johnson and/or Christian Braun, to free up the financial flexibility to do so. This is bad news for the Lakers' pursuit of Watson, of course.
Cam Johnson and Christian Braun have emerged as likely Lakers trade targets
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would, presumably, shift his interest to Johnson and Braun under the circumstances described above, at least as the Nuggets are concerned.
Once that happens, Pelinka and the Lakers would then be met with the complicated challenge of figuring out which of the two makes more sense in light of LA's basketball and financial needs.
Johnson is generally thought of as the better player. He's bigger and has a more productive track record offensively. Then again, he wasn't great this past season for Denver. Braun, on the other hand, is probably underrated at this point in his career when people talk about winning, two-way wings around the league.
The contract situations of the two players are wildly different, making Johnson a more tradable asset -- something that NBA insider Marc Stein noted this week (subscription required).
"Johnson is naturally seen as much more movable than Braun with just one season left on his contract at $23.1 million," Stein wrote. "Next season, meanwhile, will be Year 1 on the five-year, $125 contract extension that Braun received in October."
The Lakers would have to give up more assets to acquire Cam Johnson
Given Johnson's easier contract situation, he's bound to attract far more suitors than Braun. The Ringer's Bill Simmons put out a trade idea this week that saw Johnson landing with the Boston Celtics in a three-team deal involving the Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers would have to give up more assets to acquire Johnson than they would to acquire Braun. On the flip side of that equation, LA would be taking on Braun's long-term deal, even if he were acquired at a discounted asset price.
You can imagine how Pelinka and the Lakers front office might scramble their brains to mush trying to weigh all of the pros and cons involved in the 'Johnson vs. Braun' debate. Potentially, the market (as well as Denver's preferences in all of this) might dictate which of the two players is actually available to the Lakers, thereby making their decision for them. In any case, there would be a ton of unanswered questions, and LA would probably just end up still wishing they could've had Watson.
Add us as a preferred source on Google