NBA Trade Rumors: Cam Johnson's Suitors Include Pacers, Kings amid Cavs Buzz

Less than three weeks away from the NBA trade deadline, Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson's list of suitors is coming into focus.

Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings are being cited as potential suitors for Johnson.

This comes after The Athletic's Joe Vardon reported on Friday that the Cleveland Cavaliers have discussed trading for Johnson.

One Western Conference executive told Fischer the Kings could be favorites to land Johnson if the Nets decide to move him.

"The executive told me that the likely framework of a future first-round pick packaged with the contracts of Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles is regarded by some as the benchmark to beat to try to convince the Nets to surrender Johnson in the next 19 days," Fischer wrote.

Despite a recent report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that there were rumblings during the G League Showcase in December that the Oklahoma City Thunder were interested in Johnson, Fischer noted there's been "no credible evidence" to back that up.

Cleveland currently has a lack of first-round draft capital due to the Donovan Mitchell trade. The Cavaliers' next available first-round pick that could be used in a trade is their 2031 selection.

Per Fischer, the Cavs and Thunder "don't want to do anything" to disrupt their current rosters that have them sitting atop their respective conference.

The Pacers have started to show signs of being the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals last season. They've won 14 of their last 19 games after a 9-14 start and moved up to the No. 5 seed.

Since firing Mike Brown on Dec. 27, the Kings have been playing like one of the best teams in the NBA. They have won eight of their last nine games under interim head coach Doug Christie, with wins over the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.

Amid recent rumblings that opposing teams are starting to think about trade packages for De'Aaron Fox, the Kings could strengthen their roster in an attempt to make some noise in the Western Conference to entice the star guard to sign an extension with just one more year remaining on his current deal.

Johnson is a player who would make any team he's on better. The 28-year-old is averaging a career-high 19.6 points on 42.8 percent three-point shooting in 33 starts for the Nets. He's under contract for two additional seasons after this year with salaries of $20.5 million in 2025-26 and $22.5 million in 2026-27.

The Nets have gone all-in on their rebuild by trading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith in the past four weeks. They have lost 18 of their last 23 games after a 9-10 start to the season.