Nets shouldn’t be greedy with Cameron Johnson trade offers if they want a shot at No. 1 draft pick in June

With the Brooklyn Nets trading Dorian Finney-Smith over the weekend, and dealing Dennis Schroder earlier in December, they’ve made it clear that they’re having a fire sale. That’s not really news; it’s been the message since they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in June. But after overachieving in the first two months — a 12-20 record has them within two games of the final play-in spot — it felt like maybe the Nets were trying to be competitive.

Brooklyn’s since made it apparent with these trades that its intention is to do the exact opposite, which, just to be clear, should be the goal. Even in a ridiculously weak Eastern Conference, the Nets are not built to make a serious run in the playoffs. Selling off all their valuable assets was always going to be the smart play with a roster that’s still lacking a franchise centerpiece.

With Cooper Flagg, who is projected to go No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft, up for grabs, the Nets should be doing everything in their power to position themselves to secure that top pick. Flagg’s considered a generational talent, and when someone like that comes along you have to do whatever is within your power to get him in your team’s jersey. 

That means finding a way to trade Cameron Johnson as soon as possible. Johnson has been Brooklyn’s best player this season, and he’s having a career year (19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 48.8% FG, 42.9% 3), which has piqued the interest from title contenders. Johnson’s the reason the Nets have been winning games, which is just creating more of a gap between Brooklyn and the five-win teams of the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Nets are reportedly seeking “multiple” first-round picks in exchange for Johnson, per Marc Stein, which seems like pretty lofty expectations. Sure, they landed five firsts and a pick swap from the Nets in the Bridges deal, but that was a pretty massive overpay by the Knicks. Asking for anything above one first-rounder for Johnson would be getting greedy, even with the way he’s been playing. Even more, is anyone in the league seriously going to pay that?

Johnson is one of the league’s premier 3-point shooting threats and a serviceable defender, so they should get a quality haul for him. But if Brooklyn continues to hold a high asking price, and at the same time continues to win games, it’s just further cratering the team’s chances of having any shot at the No. 1 pick. 

We just saw that the Nets couldn’t get a first-round pick for Finney-Smith, despite wanting one in return over the summer. Schroder also didn’t net a first-round pick. Johnson is a better offensive player than both, and easily fits on any title contending team. But if Brooklyn drags this out until the trade deadline in February, or even into mid-January just for the sake of trying to squeeze a second first-round pick out of this deal, it will all but guarantee that they won’t be in the running to land Flagg, which should be the only priority this season.