The Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs both have very different goals this season. The Spurs are battling for playoff position in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, while the Nets are in a rebuild mode, but they could help each other in a potential trade. The Spurs could use more shooting, with several rotation players who can't put the ball in the basket from outside of the paint.
The Nets need to move on from their veterans to ensure that they will have the best possible chance to land the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft while adding to their draft stockpile. This makes a deal between the Nets and Spurs possible, with both teams able to benefit from a trade.
The Nets have already traded two of their veterans for a combined five picks and could look to move another to clear the decks. Next, let's take a look at a possible deal.
NBA Trades: Spurs and Nets swap Keldon Johnson and Cam Johnson in proposed deal.
The proposed deal would send Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, Chicago's 2025 second, and Charlotte's top-14 2025 protected first (which would become 2026 and 2027 second-round picks if it doesn't convey) to the Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson. That would be a fascinating deal, with both teams having reasons to do the trade.
The Spurs have a serious lack of shooting, especially on the bench, where they really only have one good shooter in their regular rotation in Julian Champagnie. Cam Johnson is a terrific shooter and would give them more offensively than Keldon Johnson, whose physical drives to the rim are limited by a lack of spacing.
After trading Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith for a combined five second-round picks, adding three potentially high second-round picks would make sense, not to mention that that would be getting a 25-year-old rotation player in Keldon Johnson. This deal would add three more picks to their stockpile and potentially help them to make another deal closer to the trade deadline.
For the Spurs, moving three seconds to get a dramatic shooting upgrade in Johnson would be a no-brainer and give them a more balanced rotation. Their starting five of Chris Paul, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, and Victor Wembanyama would remain unchanged.
However, their bench would now consist of Tre Jones, Stephon Castle, Champagnie, Cam Johnson, and Charles Bassey. That would give their second unit enough shooting. Ultimately, there are more than enough reasons for both teams to do the trade.