Brooklyn Nets: Should Joe Johnson Be Traded To Charlotte?

By Steve Krebs | Feb 6, 2015

Dec 17, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) brings the ball up court against Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) in the second quarter at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports /

As the days until the NBA trade deadline continue to draw closer, the Brooklyn Nets are high on the interest list of teams looking to make a push for the playoffs. Joe Johnson has been linked to a few scenarios, one including the Charlotte Hornets, but is that the best destination to start the course for brighter horizons in Brooklyn?

The 2014-15 campaign has culminated into one huge mess for Lance Stephenson — between disputes with teammates, injuries, and a sizable regression in productivity, it’s no wonder the Hornets are trying to wipe their hands clean of Sir Lance.

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The Nets organization has made some pretty horrific decisions in the past few years, but choosing to take on a volatile, disruptive attitude when the team is looking to improve for the future would be at the very top, if they elected to go this route.

Joe Johnson is a the type of player every coach would love to have on their roster: hard-working, focused, team-first mentality, and overall, he has the intelligence to work his game into a new system, rather than try to work around it in order to get his (as the kids say).

Lance Stephenson, on the other hand, is more along the lines of someone no coach ever wants to be a part of their team. Not only does his body language resemble that of someone who has no desire whatsoever to be there, (quite frankly, I am not sure happiness would be found on any team), but the impression he generates is that he does not want to be coached, because he feels there is no more to be learned.

What Brooklyn Nets fans want to know, is why would we want that?

And I am not just saying that because we already have one guy blowing in the ear of opponents….

Absolutely no good would come out of making a trade involving Lance Stephenson for Joe Johnson, and to state it any clearer, I would have to put it in caps, which, as we all know, is quite annoying. As of now, Brooklyn has no identity. In my opinion, no identity is far greater than having “cantankerous” be one of the characteristics that defines the team.

I can only imagine the antics and shenanigans that would be on display if Sir Lance is part of the multitude of losses the Brooklyn Nets are bound to incur after the All-Star break. The man is unhappy on a team structured to possibly win it all in the next few years, so I’m not sure what would bring him joy in a situation where winning 10 out of the next 34 games is sure to be a fight.

There are a handful of other destinations where a deal can be struck that will not result in taking on what at best is a risk, at worst, a complete detriment to the team. I can honestly say this is the only deal that I do not want to see become a realistic transaction.

Now it’s your turn:

Where should the Brooklyn Nets trade Joe Johnson in order to pave for the future?

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