With January 15th approaching — players becoming trade-eligible, deadline for two-way contracts, deadline for disabled player exception and the trade deadline less than a month away (February 6th).
The Oklahoma Thunder are currently the No.1 seed in the Western Conference at 30-6 and were just recently on a franchise record fifteen game winning streak, but even they have flaws that still needs to be addressed.
From outside shooting, to a lack of size in the forward positions, to a lack of dynamic scoring punch in the second-unit Oklahoma City has plenty of areas within their arsenal that could be improved.
Recently, I dove into Oklahoma City’s roster and I identified some weaknesses this roster currently possesses. Here; I provided an ideal trade target that I believe could help shore up the rosters weaknesses.
This is a hot name among the fanbase and is my personal top target, if Sam Presti decides to make a trade before the trade deadline. Cameron Johnson should be viewed as the ideal target for a multitude of reasons.
Oklahoma City is currently putting up historic numbers on the defensive side of the floor as they lead the league in defensive rating, points allowed, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and forces the most turnovers per game. This is all without them playing a single game fully healthy.
The Thunder without a doubt, have a championship caliber defense.
Their offense is good, but there are noticeable flaws that can be addressed upon the trade deadline.
Adding outside shooting should be at the top of the Thunder’s list.
Their offense Thunder ranks 19th in three-point percentage (35.1%). When you go through this Thunder roster, they have streaky shooters but lacks true snipers (outside of Isaiah Joe).
Here’s the Thunder’s 3PT% — 23-24 vs 24-25 from the players that are heavily relied on from 3PT:
Cason Wallace: 41% ➡️ 31%
Jalen Williams: 43% ➡️ 35%
Isaiah Joe: 42% ➡️ 35%
Aaron Wiggins: 48% ➡️ 39%
Alex Caruso: 41% ➡️ 26%
Lu Dort: 39% ➡️ 40%
This is certainly something to keep an eye on — especially come playoff time when defenses tend to take away open looks. OKC lost to Dallas last year in the playoffs largely due to their inability to knock down their threes.
This is where Cameron Johnson comes into play.
One of the best 3PT & movement shooters in the league, the 28-year-old is shooting 43.6% from the three-point-line on 7.5 attempts per game, while posting career highs in points (19.5) and assists (3) this season.
As stacked as this OKC roster is, they only ranks a 19th in three-point shooting percentage and 11th in points scored per game. OKC would absolutely benefit from having this level of floor spacing, movement shooting, off-ball gravity, and a proven track record of thriving as a tertiary option — next to arguably the most proficient driver in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Although, he’s not a lockdown defender, he competes and is not a liability. I would label him as a neutral defender that would provide some more size at the forward position, standing at 6’8. He would certainly look better next to the Thunder’s set of elite defenders.
Cameron Johnson is currently a hot commodity, and will be costly. The Brooklyn Nets will most likely ask for a young, promising prospect along with one or two first-round picks in any hypothetical trade talks.
The Thunder can trade for any player — due to their treasure trove of assets. So what could a potential deal look like for the Thunder? First, the Thunder need to send back enough salary to take on Johnson’s $22.5 million salary.
The Thunder currently sit below the first apron, which means they are allowed to receive more salary than they send – a huge advantage over other first or second-apron suitors.
However, since OKC is hard-capped at the first apron, they must trade a minimum of $15 million in salary to the Nets for Johnson.
It’s becoming more unlikely that Ousmane Dieng will be apart of their future. His $5 million salary is an easy choice.
Isaiah Joe ($12.9 million) and Aaron Wiggins ($10.5 million) would each get OKC there, but trading either of them is far from ideal given their chemistry and bargain long-term deals.
Another option to look at, would be sending Kenrich Williams ($6.6 million) and Nikola Topic ($4.9 million) together.
Topic would be the kind of young prospect that Brooklyn would grab to jumpstart their rebuild. He’s not helping the Thunder’s playoff run this season — due to (torn ACL). And with the Thunder finding an hidden gem in Ajay Mitchell as the backup point guard, the conversation with Sam Presti could get interesting.
Satisfying the Brooklyn Nets with draft capital & assets is not a problem for the Thunder. However, the Thunder should not send out more than a couple firsts if they were to package more than a couple of their valuable players.
He would be a seamless fit for this roster. And, if OKC are active during the trade deadline — Cameron Johnson should be at the top of their list.
Overall, a trade for Johnson would be costly — losing valuable players & draft capital. It will be interesting to see whether Presti makes a move or stand pat, especially with the way OKC is playing.
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