Nets could look to package Cam Johnson in a trade to acquire a 2nd lottery pick, per NY Post

Nets get #10 pick. In exchange, they allow us to use their cap space (let's say exactly KD's salary). That means we get to send for example FVV and Landale to the Nets. Suns send Durant to us. Nets send a TPE to the Suns which they can instantly waive and have a massive $100m+ in tax savings.

We would have to send the Suns something else too (I would give them Whitmore, it's very easy to find a SG who can earn 10-15 backup minutes).

All in all we would have traded:

FVV
Landale
Whitmore
#10

for KD.

That's an excellent deal and leaves us with:

Sengun/Bari
Durant/Bari
Brooks/Tari
Green/Vet MInimum signing/Sheppard
Amen/Sheppard/Holiday

While still retaining almost all our young players and future draft picks. You need to pick up a backup SG and backup C (who can both shoot). Sengun absolutely must take 3's even if he starts out at a bad %. That's a necessary investment.

 

By *actually produces* you mean "averaged 18.8 ppg,"

You're right, he did score more than the Rockets assortment of similar players, in part because he attempted more shots and played more minutes! On a lousy tanking team!

It would be one thing if he was scoring like 28 ppg or something like that, but then he'd be an all star.

At best we're talking about paying a cost for a slight upgrade scoring efficiency wise over 3-4 similar role players - I don't get why anyone think that adding another role player who stands at the 3 point line meaningfully addresses the Rockets biggest issue

Are you sure you're not thinking of Cam Thomas ? Mind you I don't think he's that great, and he's allergic to passing and defense, but his one skill set - on ball scoring from all over the court - is one the Rockets desperately lacked v GSW

 

People say Jalen’s role is as a 6th man, not a #1 option, but there isn’t anyone on this team to really push him for shots. Cam Johnson’s efficiency does that. It wouldn’t make a lot of difference if you were just replacing Jabari’s usage, but if a lot of Jalen’s shots started going to him and Jalen became the third or forth option, it starts making a difference.

As for Cam Thomas, we already have him in Cam Whitmore.

 

More so than that, the mere threat of Cam Johnson's shooting and efficient scoring ability would provide spacing that the team desperately needs for their best players, Amen and Sengun, to operate.

 

i think the Suns would rather have the #10 and FVV, but if this was just an examlple of using the Net's capspace i get it. i think the Nets think they will get even more for KD and they be right.

 

There's really nothing to support the idea that shots get distributed in that fashion or that throwing a higher usage role player from a crap team in with 4-5 other players who are on the same level is going to magically translate 1:1 - which it would have to be to be even a marginal upgrade.

The Rockets don't need *any more* shot finishers, guys who need to be assisted on 75% of their shots like Cam Johnson -they need shot creators (either for themselves or others).

That's basically it.

 

It's a lot easier to create for players who can shoot....

When you have 3 guys who are at the bottom of the league in FG% starting, creation is a challenge.

 

Are talking about Cam Johnson?
Cam Johnson is in the 90th percentile in scoring efficiency. Brooks, JSJ, Eason, and Cam top out in the 42nd percentile. More importantly, he adds some playmaking, which should allow Amen to play SG (i.e., he's not a stand-and-shoot player only, though he does very well as a stand-and-shoot player). Basically, this ends up removing two low scoring efficiency players from the starting lineup, swaps out one bad defender for another, adds shooting, and likely significantly upgrades the scoring efficiency.

He doesn't address the biggest issue (lack of an offensive engine), but he helps address the second biggest issue which is spacing/scoring efficiency. If the Rockets add an offensive engine, having playmaking spreadout from the PG through SF spot would be okay.

 

It’s a chicken/egg argument. One of the biggest gripes against Jabari is that he lacks confidence and passes up his shot too often. If you had a more efficient player in Johnson taking all of Jabari’s current shots along with some of the ones he’s passing off to even less efficient players, this team improves. Jalen, Amen, Sengun can all create. The problem is that the player being used as a finisher is not one. Put someone in there that actually is one.

 

Like how, they win 54 games instead of 52? Jabari was the 7th man by the end of the season, I don't get how upgrading that spot, shooting wise, from 35% to 40% has much impact one way or the other.

The Rockets don't have an A or B level perimeter creator who can also not be left alone or constantly backed off of. There is no Luka or SGA or Haliburton or Jalen Brunson or Anthony Edwards or even a Ja Morant or a Trae Young.

Jalen Green isn't that guy except - apparently - in March. Thompson isn't that guy since he can't shoot for ****. Cam Johnson obviously isn't that guy.

Everything else is just marginal. Though, honestly if Thompson or Sengun ever learned to shoot (unlikely) a lot of current problems would be gone. But they can't, and 2 non-shooters is a ****ing shitshow which makes it harder for Jalen or anybody else. Cam Johnson is irrelevant to that core problem.

 

Winning meaningless regular season games means nothing when you get booted out of the playoffs in the first round by a play in team.

 

This is comical.

I’m talking about upgrading one position.

You aren’t even arguing that the change wouldn’t be an upgrade, but that the upgrade would be irrelevant because we need an entirely new team with better players all over the court around that one position.

You win, because you are technically correct.

 

It's an upgrade that's so marginal that it's not worth the transaction cost - and that presumes the percentages carry over exactly as they did last year.

The only upgrades the Rocket should make are the blindingly obvious ones - lack of a true multifaceted star player

 

No, I meant Jalen, he needs to go.....Jabari can stay or go....

But Cam Johnson would be a nice addition.....and Jalen going opens up room for Cam Whitmore.

DD

 

Well we could use a PG that can actually get by his man, and finish at the rim.

DD

 

As you know, Rome was created in a day. If you can't make something immediately perfect, it doesn't make sense to improve it.

 

Brooklyn have no chance of getting KD, he's only going to go to contenders. He has one year he's left so he's largely going to dictate his destination. Always works out that way when it's an expiring.

I don't think they'd have any interest in FVV. They can't move Beal and won't move Booker (neither of whom can guard wings), so they won't turn $44m of their cap into a backup PG effectively keeping them mediocre while paying crazy tax.

I actually think salary savings is their top goal. There were articles since last year communicating it, no one else benefits from that story and it's not interesting for the media. Has to have come from them.

I think you're underestimating the tax damage in the second apron era.

 

I think Dillon Brooks is the better player, but if you want to replace him with Cam Johnson then you would get a career better 3pt shooter who doesn’t play defense as well. It is pretty much a lateral move. He is not a Jalen replacement or a Jabari replacement who is too important to our defense and shows signs of being a knock down shooter. It just doesn’t make sense to give up draft assets that could be used to address our real problems in the backcourt for a marginal offensive improvement at SF. If they are desperate to save cap space then a couple of expiring contracts (landale could be released immediately) and a highly protected frp that doesn’t screw our flexibility would be the only thing that makes sense for the Rockets. If they are determined to move Cam it will be to another team.

 

I think the idea is replacing Jalen with Cam Johnson. Amen would be shifted to the backcourt. While Cam is not a great defender, he's not worse than Jalen.

You still have a bit of logjam. You have four guys manning the 3-4 positions, Johnson, Brooks, Smith, and Eason. All of them can start. Neither Brooks nor Johnson is ideal to play the 4 because of their weak rebounding. Cam is a much more reliable shooter. He's a career 40% 3pt shooter. This past season was the only time Brooks shot close to 40%. And Cam can play some SG minutes. I think he does address one of our main offensive problems. And if he's replacing Jalen in the starting lineup, he wouldn't weaken the defense since both Amen and Jabari would still be there.

 

Yeah that's the thing, right now, as of right now. Jalen is a good role player. Like if he were a FA tomorrow a bunch of teams would love to have him coming off the bench and dropping 15ppg, he can do that...this is pretty much Cam Johnson's role at 29 lol. A scorer, as in, a role player scorer. Nothing wrong with that, Malik Monk and Crawford and Lou Will and our own guy Eric Gordon, Jalen going to make a lot of money off of that...but no reason to just throw him willy nilly into trades like this.

I don't think Jalen is going to break out. Let me make that clear, maybe there is like a 5% chance...but given his age...it's still a chance. So he still has 'potential' as a trade piece becayse within the next 1-3 seasons he could turn into Haliburton or Nash or a bunch of other players who do better on their 2nd team.

Now, if its Jalen for Cam swap, sure, I would consider it strongly.
#10 for Cam, yep would do.

BOTH? Hell no.

Because just like Jalen, that #10 pick still has value and potential. Hell, for all we know said player could become our franchise player. Plenty of hall of famers get picked at 10 and beyond.

Honestly, straight up, I don't think Cam is worth the risk either way. We need a GO TO scorer. That is someone that can make clutch buckets in close playoffs games. I don't think Cam Johnson is a necessity right now. He's a luxury and at the price of Jalen or #10 pick, a price too high.