NBA Trade Rumors: Nets clear stance on $23,625,000 earning forward as steep asking price deters teams while trade deadline looms

Less than two weeks from the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets have stood pat on its steep asking price for forward Cam Johnson.

On Friday, NBA insiders Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst revealed that Brooklyn had communicated a steep asking price for Johnson to potential trade partners. The Nets also said they will be comfortable retaining the forward beyond the season if the price is not met.

"The Nets' price for Johnson's services remains high — and that they'll be content to hang on to him if that price isn't met," Bontemps and Windhorst wrote in an ESPN article.

Bontemps and Windhorst added that this is not the first time Brooklyn has taken this stance. Recently traded Dorina Finney-Smith was a trade target last season but was just shipped last month in exchange for future picks.

Johnson's contract has been deemed reasonable by analysts, with an annual average of $23,625,000, per Sportrac. The 28-year-old is in the second year of a four-year, $94.5 million deal he signed with the Nets in 2023.

With this, league decision-makers believe that the 6-foot-8 Johnson is the player most likely to be moved ahead of the deadline.

"For a team in asset acquisition mode, Brooklyn has yet to move the player whom league decision-makers have labeled as the most likely to be traded over the next two weeks," Bontemps and Windhorst added.

The Minnesota Timberwolves picked Johnson at No. 11 overall in the 2019 NBA draft. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns on draft night and went on to play a key bench role in the Suns' 2021 NBA finals run. The Nets acquired him in February 2023.

Teams rumored to have interest in the Brooklyn Nets' wing

The Brooklyn Nets have already traded Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith, so they appear to be "sellers" at the trade deadline. Several teams have been rumored to have an interest in forward Cam Johnson.

According to The Athletic's Joe Vardon, the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers have expressed their interest in Johnson. Acquiring the 6-foot-8 wing would cement Cleveland as a favorite to come out of the East.

"Executives from three franchises told The Athletic that Cleveland has expressed interest in acquiring 6-foot-8 forward Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets," Vardon said.

On Wednesday, Forbes' Evan Sidery reported that the Nets might be interested in OKC Thunder's injured guard Nikola Topic, opening a potential path for a trade involving Johnson.

"The Nets are widely believed to covet Nikola Topić in trade talks with the Thunder on Cam Johnson. ... Oklahoma City has the necessary assets Brooklyn desires in a trade involving Johnson," Sidery wrote.

In his sixth season in the NBA, Johnson has been averaging a career-best 19.4 points on a career-high 49.1% shooting. He also shoots 41.9 on 3-pointers and adds 4.1 rpg and 2.9 apg. Despite appearing in 35 games so far, Johnson has played sparingly in the past month due to an ankle issue.

Johnson could immediately impact any team with his two-way capabilities and playoff experience. However, potential trade partners should match the Nets' high asking price.