The Los Angeles Lakers could be a team to watch for this wing as the trade deadline approaches.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to be aggressive in their pursuit to upgrade the roster ahead of the trade deadline. They have already made one move, trading D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
Russell has thrived offensively away from the Lakers now that he has more opportunities. He is in the starting lineup again after he was benched in L.A. So far, Finney-Smith and Milton have not netted much results in terms of offensive help. They combined for just seven points in their win against the Blazers in their second game with the Lakers.
Los Angeles is going to be looking for ways to improve their offense. They still have some scoring issues that they need to fix. They are tied for 17th in terms of points per game, so they want to improve on that mark. One way to do that is to trade for one of the top forwards available in the trade market.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Lakers are one of the teams in pursuit of Cameron Johnson. The forward for the Brooklyn Nets is averaging 19.5 points per game this season and is shooting a blazing 43.6 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Johnson is one of the hot names around the trade deadline talks. He is someone who is highly coveted because of both his scoring ability and his size. His length allows him to be an effective defender, although he is much more of an offensive-first player.
The Lakers are still trying to figure out who they want to add to help that offense. Adding Johnson would be interesting for them because it would likely mean getting rid of Rui Hachimura or Gabe Vincent, or maybe even both. That could hurt their depth.
Los Angeles is one of the teams that always look for star players to bring in. Jimmy Butler is way too expensive to bring in, especially with the fact that he could opt into a player option next year that is $52 million. Johnson is earning more than half of that, getting just $22.5 million this season.
While the Lakers are in win-now mode, even they have limits. That’s why they are hoping to get a cheaper option in Johnson. If they can get someone with the scoring ability of Johnson, the Lakers become a lot more dangerous as a team down the stretch.