The Lakers are in the midst of regrouping now that the first few days of NBA free agency have left them without a significant new addition to last year’s roster.
But they still need to find a way to upgrade the roster with the limited assets they have on hand. They’ve been trying to free up their midlevel exception and find a player willing to sign for that amount (a bit less than $13 million), which would not cost them much by way of future assets, but that has proven fruitless.
A good fallback option could be had on the trade market, a sweet-shooting forward who would address their need for floor spacing in the frontcourt: Nets big man Cam Johnson.
Amid a report from Yahoo Sports suggesting that the Nets would “welcome” a trade for D’Angelo Russell, it’s possible for the Lakers to bring in Johnson without giving up its two high-value future first-rounders in 2029 and 2031.
The Lakers would have to persuade the Nets that taking back Russell and last year’s first-round pick, Jalen Hood-Schifino, would be enough of a return for Johnson, whose lengthy injury history dings his value.
Johnson is not a star, but he is the type of player who can star in his role—as a good two-way forward who brings the kind of positional versatility needed in the modern NBA. He can guard three positions, and won’t get completely lost if he is forced into mismatches against po
And he can shoot. That has always been the draw to Johnson, since he came out of North Carolina as the No. 11 pick in 2019. He is a career 39.2% shooter, and has shot better than 39% from the 3-point arc in four of his five NBA seasons.