Nets Notebook: Brooklyn maintains high asking price for Cam Johnson ahead of NBA Trade deadline

There’s a increasing consciousness astir the league that Cam Johnson whitethorn stay with the Nets past Thursday’s commercialized deadline. Brooklyn has reportedly been seeking 2 first-round picks oregon equivalent for the sharpshooting wing. At this constituent successful the cycle, that asking terms whitethorn beryllium a spot excessively steep.

“Teams monitoring the concern this week didn’t deliberation anyone would marque an connection beardown capable to get Johnson,” wrote Ian Begley of SNY.

Johnson has averaged a career-best 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists crossed 35 games this play portion shooting 49.1% from the tract and 41.9% from deep. His uptick successful scoring and elite ratio has made him a apical commercialized people this season. The Nets, successful the midst of different expansive rebuild nether wide manager Sean Marks, person been buying the guardant for months.

The Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and others person each been linked to Johnson astatine 1 constituent oregon another. However, aft the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, possibly breaking the slope for the 28-year-old nary longer feels similar the champion usage of assets.

The Nets shouldn’t beryllium successful a unreserved to commercialized Johnson anyway. He has 2 years near connected his existent woody worthy $21.5 cardinal annually, truthful tin beryllium kept portion maintaining fiscal flexibility. That, connected apical of his on-court ascension, is what makes him specified a invaluable asset.

Johnson missed his sixth consecutive crippled connected Tuesday due to the fact that of a close ankle sprain. He was expected to beryllium re-evaluated sometime this week.

LIFE IN THE LEAGUE

Dennis Schröder was having a vocation twelvemonth successful Brooklyn earlier helium was traded to the Golden State Warriors successful December. Across his archetypal 24 appearances successful the Bay, he’s averaged conscionable 10.6 points per crippled portion shooting 37.5% from the field. While the seasoned constituent defender is inactive blessed to beryllium playing successful the champion league successful the world, the abrupt alteration successful scenery was hardly fair, but that’s the business.

In an exclusive interrogation with Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports Bay Area, Schröder compared the NBA commercialized deadline to modern slavery. He’s been traded 5 times successful 12 seasons arsenic a pro. And different journeymen astir the league astir apt stock the aforesaid frustration.

“Everybody tin determine wherever you’re going, adjacent if you person a contract,” Schröder said. “Yeah, of course, we marque a batch of money, and we tin provender our families, but astatine the extremity of the time if they say, ‘You’re not coming to enactment tomorrow, you’re going implicit there,’ they tin determine that. They got to alteration that a small bit.”

LAKERS SEEKING CENTER HELP

Speaking to reporters astatine Doncic’s introductory quality league connected Tuesday, Lakers wide manager Rob Pelinka was asked astir the team’s hunt for a legit halfway aft parting ways with Davis, and what he’s looking for successful a imaginable acquisition.

“Versatility, mobility, a vertical lob threat, I deliberation that’s a cardinal to the spacing that Luka likes to play with, competitive,” Pelinka said. “Those players are hard to find… But we’ll find a way.”

Sound familiar? Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe person some been linked to the Lakers successful caller days, and the Nets are unfastened for business. Whether a woody gets done for either large volition beryllium revealed soon.