The Orlando Magic, who have been scouring the market for long-range bombers, are one of many teams that have shown interest in Brooklyn Nets’ sweet-shooting forward Cameron Johnson, according to the New York Post.
Johnson, 28, remains a hot commodity on the NBA trade market despite having a down year last season, where he endured a number of injuries but still put up 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 44 percent from the field.
The stat that still keeps Johnson an intriguing trade target for any contending team is his 39 percent three-point shooting through 58 games last season. He’s also a career 39 percent three-point shooter in four NBA seasons.
Cam Johnson Possesses a Rare Combo of Size and Shooting
Brian Lewis of the New York Post disclosed that the Magic, Lakers, and Kings are strong contenders to trade for Johnson, while other teams like the Warriors, Raptors, and Spurs could also be in the mix.
Johnson’s unique combination of size at 6-foot-8 and accurate shooting is a rarity in the NBA, and that makes him such a valuable target for teams that want to add firepower to their offense.
“His size (6-foot-8), age (28), and shooting ability combine to make Johnson valuable. Only 10 NBA players 6-7 or taller averaged more than his 2.4 made 3-pointers last season,” Lewis underlined in his article.
Does Magic Really Need to Trade for Johnson Now?
The Magic is an up-and-coming team in the Eastern Conference that is raring to improve on its first-round playoff appearance last season.
Orlando added a lot of shooting this season by signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year, $66 million deal and Cory Joseph to a veteran minimum contract.
Both Caldwell-Pope and Joseph shot close to or above 40 percent from the three-point territory at some point in their careers, making them nice additions to a team that ranked among the worst three-point shooting teams in the league last season at 35.2 percent.
Nathaniel Marrero of Orlando Magic FanNation believed Johnson would fit in nicely with the Magic because of the tangible things he can provide to the team.
However, the writer stressed that dealing for Magic could mean losing quality role players and draft picks and, at the same time, ruining the team’s financial flexibility with Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs up for extension.
“Johnson likely won’t come cheap. Along with the potential players and draft picks Orlando could have to give up, he has three years and just under 70 million left on his current contract.”
“While the Magic do have the cap space to pay him and remain under the first apron next season, they just gave Franz Wagner a max rookie-scale extension and have Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero waiting in the wings for their rookie-scale extensions,” Marrero added.
Instead of Johnson, Marrero proposed developing young talents that already possess shooting acumen, like 6-foot-8 rookie Tristan da Silva and second-year Jett Howard, in the hope of turning them into reliable three-point shooters.
The Magic will enter the 2023-24 season with high expectations of becoming a real contender in the Eastern Conference. And so far, they are heading in that direction, given the moves they made to shore up their three-ball.
In terms of their interest in Johnson, the Magic’s best play right now is to wait and watch how the existing squad performs throughout the first three months of the season. Although waiting that long could provide an opportunity for other teams to get Johnson, going all in on him when there is still time to examine the roster adequately makes little sense.
