Milwaukee Bucks: Eastern Conference Rival To Snap Up 1 Perfect Fit Trade Candidate?

The Milwaukee Bucks may be running out of time to acquire one of the trade market’s hottest candidates, according to a report by The Athletic’s Joe Vardon indicating interest in the player from an Eastern Conference rival.

The Cavaliers have expressed interest in acquiring forward Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @joevardon.

Cleveland is looking to address distinct disadvantages in size and physicality on the perimeter.

Details ⤵️https://t.co/uUFRrc0jjl

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) January 17, 2025

Milwaukee has gathered steam over their past six games, but standing pat at the deadline does nothing to address their 0-8 mark against Cleveland, Boston, and New York. And it looks like the two-way Nets forward, who is having a career year, may be off the table.

The Milwaukee Bucks Could Really Use a Cam Johnson of Their Own

While the Bucks have not been directly linked to Johnson rumors, he would make all the sense in the world for this roster. The 6’8” forward is known for his length and quickness on defense, and this season is he is scoring 19.6 PPG while shooting 49.9% from the field and 42.8% on threes.

To get him, Milwaukee would have to deal either Khris Middleton, the more obvious choice, or Brook Lopez. Neither trade would require involving a third team. Although both players have the requisite salary, however, trading Lopez would mean finding a new starting center, or else starting Bobby Portis and finding a capable backup. Replacing Lopez with Portis at tipoff would also hurt the defense. A forward-for-forward swap, Middleton for Johnson, would be a much neater transaction.

Whether Brooklyn would be interested in negotiating is another question. Though Milwaukee does not possess a treasure trove of picks, the cupboard isn’t altogether bare. At their disposal are first round pick swaps for 2026, 2028, and 2030, as well as their first and second rounders in 2031. Because New Orleans and Portland own swap rights for the earlier firsts, their value is diminished, but they are opening night selections all the same.

While the Cavaliers have more draft capital to offer, it is predominantly in the form of second rounders, and likely late seconds at that assuming Cleveland remains competitive for several seasons. The two firsts they can offer come into play in 2030 and ’31.

Of course, the Nets aren’t looking to add massive salary, so Middleton’s $31.6 million paycheck in 2024 and his $34 million player option in ’25 present obstacles. Lopez ($23 M) is on an expiring contract, but if Brooklyn doesn’t trade current center Nic Claxton, adding Lopez wouldn’t make sense unless they knew they could flip him to someone else.

Will the Cavs Reach a Deal with Brooklyn Nets?

Since Cleveland isn’t interested in surrendering any core piece, it is questionable what they could include to up the value of their trade package in terms of future talent or tradeable assets. The Cavaliers would most likely push Georges Niang (8.4 PPG, $8.5 M) as part of the deal. Would they be willing to include wing Dean Wade (6.1 PPG, $6.0 M)?

Either way, those salaries would be easier to manage that what the Bucks would be unloading, and getting rid of Johnson in exchange for a clear downgrade would allow Brooklyn to embrace the tank. Would Niang+Wade and five second rounders appeal to the Nets?

The Cavs might have to do more than that, but they are clearly hunting Johnson. As the February 6 deadline looms, he seems bound to be snapped up by someone.

Something, Versus Nothing, Would Be Nice for Bucks

Maybe the Bucks never had a realistic shot at Johnson, but it is worth lamenting what in fantasy land would be a killer move for Milwaukee. Though not the same smooth creator, he essentially provides what Middleton did during the 2021 Finals run: 20 PPG, a lights out three-ball, and stellar defense. Even if Johnson’s scoring dropped after joining the Bucks as the clear-cut third option, he would be a massive upgrade over Middleton on both sides of the ball.

Johnson missed most of Brooklyn’s recent games with an ankle injury, but for reference, here is what he and Khris have done since December.

Johnson:

Date	OPP	Result	MIN	FG	FG%	3PT	3P%	FT	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
Tue 1/14	@POR	W 132-114	27	10-18	55.6	2-9	22.2	2-2	100.0	1	2	1	0	0	1	24
Thu 1/2	@MIL	W 113-110	39	10-16	62.5	6-12	50.0	0-0	0.0	5	0	0	0	1	5	26
Wed 1/1	@TOR	L 130-113	28	7-12	58.3	3-5	60.0	7-7	100.0	1	3	0	1	3	3	24
january			31.0	9.0-15.3	58.7	3.7-8.7	42.3	3.0-3.0	100.0	2.3	1.7	0.3	0.3	1.3	3.0	24.7

Date	OPP	Result	MIN	FG	FG%	3PT	3P%	FT	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
Sun 12/29	@ORL	L 102-101	25	3-9	33.3	2-5	40.0	1-1	100.0	3	4	0	3	1	2	9
Thu 12/26	@MIL	W 111-105	35	8-13	61.5	4-6	66.7	9-9	100.0	5	3	0	0	1	6	29
Mon 12/23	@MIA	L 110-95	33	7-15	46.7	3-7	42.9	2-2	100.0	3	2	0	1	1	2	19
Sat 12/21	vsUTAH	L 105-94	38	7-15	46.7	2-9	22.2	2-2	100.0	3	5	0	2	2	6	18
Thu 12/19	@TOR	W 101-94	34	9-15	60.0	4-10	40.0	11-12	91.7	10	6	2	0	3	2	33
Mon 12/16	vsCLE	L 130-101	28	5-10	50.0	3-6	50.0	9-13	69.2	1	5	1	0	1	3	22
Fri 12/13	@MEM	L 135-119	31	4-11	36.4	2-6	33.3	2-3	66.7	7	3	0	1	2	1	12
Sun 12/8	vsMIL	L 118-113	38	9-16	56.3	4-8	50.0	4-4	100.0	3	2	1	1	2	3	26
Wed 12/4	vsIND	W 99-90	35	7-18	38.9	7-13	53.8	5-6	83.3	7	1	1	2	1	3	26
Sun 12/1	vsORL	L 100-92	36	9-17	52.9	2-5	40.0	6-6	100.0	4	1	0	0	3	0	26
december			33.2	6.8-13.9	48.9	3.3-7.5	44.0	5.1-5.8	87.9	4.6	3.2	0.5	1.0	1.7	2.8	22.0

Middleton:

Date	OPP	Result	MIN	FG	FG%	3PT	3P%	FT	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
Wed 1/15	vsORL	W 122-93	21	5-8	62.5	0-1	0.0	4-6	66.7	2	6	0	2	1	0	14
Sun 1/12	@NY	L 140-106	25	7-9	77.8	2-4	50.0	0-0	0.0	0	5	0	2	3	2	16
Fri 1/10	@ORL	W 109-106	23	5-10	50.0	1-5	20.0	0-0	0.0	3	4	0	1	0	1	11
Wed 1/8	vsSA	W 121-105	21	2-7	28.6	1-5	20.0	3-4	75.0	5	3	0	0	2	0	8
Sat 1/4	vsPOR	L 105-102	26	1-5	20.0	0-3	0.0	0-0	0.0	7	3	0	0	2	1	2
Thu 1/2	vsBKN	L 113-110	24	6-11	54.5	0-3	0.0	0-0	0.0	3	2	0	1	0	0	12
january			23.2	4.3-8.3	52.0	0.7-3.5	19.0	1.2-1.7	70.0	3.3	3.8	0.0	1.0	1.3	0.7	10.5

Date	OPP	Result	MIN	FG	FG%	3PT	3P%	FT	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
Tue 12/31	@IND	W 120-112	31	4-11	36.4	1-4	25.0	6-6	100.0	6	7	0	0	4	4	15
Sat 12/28	@CHI	L 116-111	28	8-15	53.3	4-6	66.7	1-1	100.0	6	4	0	0	4	2	21
Thu 12/26	vsBKN	L 111-105	26	8-13	61.5	3-6	50.0	2-3	66.7	5	5	0	1	4	7	21
Mon 12/23	@CHI	W 112-91	23	9-15	60.0	3-5	60.0	0-0	0.0	5	5	0	1	2	4	21
Sat 12/21	vsWSH	W 112-101	24	7-14	50.0	4-6	66.7	0-0	0.0	6	8	0	1	1	1	18
Fri 12/20	@CLE	L 124-101	19	5-12	41.7	1-2	50.0	3-5	60.0	3	3	0	0	2	2	14
Sat 12/14	vsATL	W 110-102	22	2-7	28.6	1-5	20.0	1-2	50.0	3	4	1	1	5	3	6
NBA Cup – Semifinals
Tue 12/10	vsORL	W 114-109	20	0-2	0.0	0-1	0.0	0-0	0.0	4	8	0	3	2	2	0
NBA Cup – Quarterfinals
Sun 12/8	@BKN	W 118-113	20	3-8	37.5	1-3	33.3	4-4	100.0	2	6	0	0	2	0	11
Fri 12/6	@BOS	L 111-105	23	2-10	20.0	1-3	33.3	6-6	100.0	3	5	1	2	3	1	11
december			23.6	4.8-10.7	44.9	1.9-4.1	46.3	2.3-2.7	85.2	4.3	5.5	0.2	0.9	2.9	2.6	13.8

Milwaukee is playing much better of late, but they simply don’t have the full complement of ingredients that they did in 2021. If GM Jon Horts is all-in on pursuing another ring, he should look to bag a Cam Johnson-like weapon to plant alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard before the deadline expires.

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