With the trade deadline just two weeks away, everyone is trying to pinpoint guys that their team can look to acquire (that is, unless you are a fan of a tanking team).
For the Sacramento Kings, the big name that has been connected to the recently surging team is Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson. In theory, it makes great sense that the Kings would be in hot pursuit of the sharpshooter. This Kings team needs shooting, size, and defense. And for the most part (he isn't a great defender), Johnson gives you all that.
However, everything is not always as it seems, and that is especially true when it comes to the trade deadline. And as it pertains to this rumor, what we've heard so far doesn't seem to be true.
The Kings and Nets are not in serious trade talks
Many people close to the team believe that the Kings and Nets are in conversations for a trade involving Johnson. However, it seems that they aren't in talks at all. In a recent news dump on his substack, NBA Insider Marc Stein revealed information about the situation:
"The Sacramento Kings have been frequently mentioned this month as an aggressive trade suitor for the Nets' sharpshooter, but league sources told The Stein Line on Wednesday that there have been no discussions between the Kings and Nets regarding Johnson for weeks. Sources say that the Kings, at this juncture, do not see a pathway to a workable Johnson deal with the Nets.
There is obviously still time for that to change, with two weeks (and change) to go until the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline, but word is that Sacramento is actively engaged with other teams on separate trade concepts."
So, at least according to Stein, the Kings have not been in active talks with the Nets about Johnson. This makes sense when you think about it. As we wrote about earlier this week (and as Stein and his partner Jake Fischer reported), the Nets have a lofty asking price for Johnson, and given that Johnson is under contract for two years after this one, there is no rush for them to trade him at this time.
As we discussed in another recent post, even if they added Johnson, the fit isn't as clean as one would think because of their Big 4 (De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and Domantas Sabonis) and the lineup restrictions you have to deal with because of their respective rotations. So, it seems unlikely that the team would be willing to give up significant assets for a player who won't be super easy to slot into the rotation.
Besides, even if they were to get Johnson, there is no guarantee that the deal would vault the team into inner circle title contender status. So, it is fair that they don't want to try to make a move on him at this point.
In any event, as Stein noted, the Kings are still active in trade talks, just not ones involving Johnson. That begs the question: who are the Kings trying to acquire this trade deadline season?