The Oklahoma City Thunder are running away with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they may not be satisfied with their roster just yet.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported on Saturday that the Thunder are a team in hot pursuit of Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. Slater does also note however that Brooklyn’s asking price has been “steep” and mentions the Sacramento Kings as another team at the top of the conversation for Johnson.
The 28-year-old Johnson is a highly-coveted piece who is in Year 2 of a four-year, $94.5 million deal. He does it all at 6-foot-8 and is averaging career-best numbers this year with 19.5 points and 3.0 assists per game on elite 50/43/90 shooting splits. Johnson was also a major rotation cog for the Phoenix Suns team that made the 2021 NBA Finals.
The 29-5 Thunder are well-positioned at forward right now with their two-way tandem of Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort. But Johnson is a more efficient shooter than Williams and is a longer defender than Dort, which would make him an excellent addition for a seven-game postseason series where teams need as many closing-lineup options as possible. OKC also seemingly has every possible combination of assets (from young talent to draft picks) to dangle in a trade, and they have been linked to a potential deal for another forward for several months now.
