With De'Anthony Melton suffering a season-ending ACL injury, the Golden State Warriors are once again a major talking point in trade discussions amid their strong 12-3 start to the season.
The Warriors have started Lindy Waters III at the shooting guard position over the past four games, but there's a sense that the team still needs to find an upgrade in that spot, potentially via trade and using Melton's $12.8 million salary.
Cam Johnson is giving a perfectly timed audition as a potential Warriors trade target
One name that has gathered traction among the Golden State fanbase is Cam Johnson, with the Brooklyn Nets forward set to be one of the hottest commodities ahead of the February 6 trade deadline.
Johnson isn't necessarily a star by any means, but he has been playing like it over recent games. The 28-year-old has given a perfectly timed audition to the Warriors and other potential trade suitors, going for 34 and 37 points over Brooklyn's last two games against the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.
Johnson went 6-of-12 from 3-point range against Charlotte and 9-of-13 from deep in Philadelphia, giving him 15 made threes on 27 attempts attempts in the space of two games. The 6'8" forward is now averaging a career-high 19.3 points along with 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, having shot 42.3% from 3-point range on 8.1 attempts per game.
The former 10th overall pick could take a role in the starting lineup, pushing Andrew Wiggins to the shooting guard spot in a bigger opening five that would retain three 40+ percent 3-point shooters in Stephen Curry, Johnson and Wiggins.
Trading for Johnson would be somewhat difficult given he makes $23.6 million this season, not to mention Golden State would be committing to more long-term money as the Nets forward still has $45.1 million left on his contract over the next two years.
Melton's salary gets them over halfway there, but the Nets would have to be incentivized by something fairly significant. Perhaps the Warriors would be willing to put Jonathan Kuminga on the table, especially if they think paying Johnson is more valuable than re-signing their former seventh overall pick on a bigger contract in restricted free agency.
That would still leave Golden State just short in salary, meaning they may also have to sacrifice Gary Payton II or Kevon Looney, potentially getting another cheaper player alongside Johnson in return.
The Warriors could actually try and bring Melton and/or Looney/Payton back as free agents during the offseason, essentially leaving it is a Kuminga-for-Johnson swap that may have some appeal to both teams.