The Los Angeles Lakers could be poised to miss out on signing Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets as Rob Pelinka‘s $154.5 million mastermind trade plan finds itself on the ropes, just weeks after trading away D’Angelo Russell.
LeBron James‘ team were reportedly in the running for the Chicago Bulls‘ Zach LaVine but missed out because the time wasn’t right. Then allowing the 28-year-old Russell leave to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith then closed the door on that move for good.
It seems as though this is something Pelinka was fine with as he moved onto lining up Johnson, who is on a far cheaper contract, but the decision to trade away their point guard on December 29 could spell ruin for the plan to land the Nets‘ small forward.
The Lakers‘ General Manager freed up $18.7 million by letting Russell leave, but had to spend $17.8m to bring in Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to preserve the balance of the team. That now means they’re $3.5m below Johnson‘s value of $65.5m in salary cap.
As a result, the front office must tread carefully to ensure they avoid any penalties from the NBA for breaching financial regulations which means it’s unclear if they can actually trade for Johnson or even LaVine ($89m) now.
“There was early-season talk about Zach LaVine and the Lakers,” HoopsHype reported. “But the puzzle didn’t have the right pieces at the time.
“With Los Angeles moving the D’Angelo Russell contract a few weeks ago for Dorian Finney-Smith, the puzzle was all but thrown in the garbage.”
Lakers not even sixth-favorite to land Johnson
Worryingly, the bookmakers don’t even have the Lakers in the running to sign Johnson. Six teams rank ahead of them and they are the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors. The Thunder are clear favorites with DKSportsbook at +240.
The Lakers are chasing their first NBA championship since the Covid-struck 2020 season. They defeated the Miami Heat 4-2 in the NBA Finals after going 57-0 in the regular season to claim their first title since 2010. LeBron was named Finals MVP.
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