The Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 34-6 after Thursday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, are interested in trading for Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson, according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon:

Executives from three franchises told The Athletic that Cleveland has expressed interest in acquiring 6-foot-8 forward Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets — one of the most coveted players league-wide in the trade market — with the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline fast approaching.

League sources with knowledge of Cleveland’s internal discussions say Johnson has been discussed as a potential target and say the franchise has done its due diligence in inquiring about the availability of Johnson. Rival team officials, however, believe the Cavs’ interest to be more serious than that.

…

Cleveland has no interest in trading any member of its core but could get to the money needed to match Johnson’s salary without disrupting its top eight players. The Cavs have a trove of second-round picks to offer but can’t trade a first-round pick until 2031.

Hmm! It’s tough to say that Cleveland needs to make a major upgrade before the deadline, but part of Johnson’s appeal is that he can fit virtually anywhere. There’s no such thing as having too much shooting, and, while Johnson’s on-ball skills have improved in Brooklyn, he’s not going to upset any team’s chemistry by demanding touches. If the Cavs could add a 6-foot-8 wing who is in the middle of a career season and making 43.5% of his catch-and-shoot 3s without losing any of their eight best players, that would definitely increase their title odds.

But who exactly are Cleveland’s eight best players? And would the Nets realistically want the kind of package the Cavs could offer?

Johnson’s salary this season is $22.5 million, which is not particularly easy for Cleveland to match. The implication here, I suspect, is that its eight best players are their Big Four plus Dean Wade, Caris LeVert, Max Strus and Ty Jerome. This would mean that the contracts of wing Isaac Okoro ($10.2 million) and forward Georges Niang ($8.5 million) would get the Cavs most of the way there. Cleveland could also include, say, rookie wing Jaylon Tyson to reach the threshold, but completing the trade wouldn’t be that simple: it would require Brooklyn to waive two players. (In the offseason, the same roster-compliance rules don’t apply, which is one of the reasons that it’s more common to see players trade three or more players for one at that time of year.)

Okoro, who has shot poorly since returning from a shoulder injury earlier this month, could be of interest to Brooklyn. Tyson could be, too, and the Nets would definitely value the 2031 first-rounder. I’m not sure, though, that this will be the best offer that they get for Johnson. On Dec. 29, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein reported that they were seeking multiple first-round picks for him.

Also worth noting: Stein and Jake Fischer reported Thursday that Cleveland is “listening to pitches but generally reluctant to do any sort of trade-deadline tinkering,” for fear of disrupting the good thing it has going.  

Which bigs will be on the move?

According to The Stein Line, the Washington Wizards‘ Jonas Valanciunas, the Utah Jazz‘s John Collins and the Chicago Bulls‘ Nikola Vucevic are all very much available. In addition, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that the Golden State Warriors have been looking for frontcourt help and have made inquiries on all of those players … and the Portland Trail Blazers‘ Robert Williams III.

Williams, 27, is a particularly interesting theoretical fit for the Warriors. There aren’t many rim-protecting, lob-catching centers who can also pass as well as he can.

Also, according to HoopsHype, Phoenix tried to include center Jusuf Nurkic in the Nick Richards deal, and it hoped to pry wing Cody Martin away from the Hornets, too. Nurkic is making $18.1 million this season and $19.4 million next season, and the DNP-CDs he’s gotten recently have not improved his trade value.

It is unclear how likely Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl will be moved. On Jan. 5, The Stein Line reported that the Raptors had “resisted mounting trade interest” in him. The Raptors have other interesting players to monitor, though, including bigs Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk (plus Bruce Brown, who stands 6-foot-4 but can function as a point-center on offense if need be), and, according to the Toronto Star’s Doug Smith, they’d be happy to take on some 2025-26 money if it means picking up some draft capital, which makes them a potential third team in hypothetical Jimmy Butler trade scenarios.