The trade deadline has come and gone, which means there’s no more big potential transactions to talk about until the summer.
Should Johnson, 34, obtain a buyout of his $25 million salary for the season, Cleveland would be his next destination, sources with knowledge of the dialogue insist to cleveland.com.
Brooklyn is aware of the ballpark figure it would take for Johnson to agree to a buyout, a source said. The way sources characterize the situation, Brooklyn has to decide whether they want to help the Cavaliers, or allow Johnson to play out his contract as is.
If Joe Johnson does indeed wind up in a Cavs uniform, let’s look at the pros and cons of the potential signing:
Pros:
- Although he’s never played in the finals, Johnson provides tons of playoff experience.
- Brings instant scoring and he’ll give LeBron another shooter on the perimeter.
- This is probably the biggest positive, which is the Cavs could pay him the minimum salary ($8,819 per day).
Cons:
- He’s 34-years-old and his numbers have been declining for the past four seasons.
- He’s currently shooting 40 percent from the field.
- The major con is he’s a huge liability defensively.
All in all, Cleveland doesn’t lose here because it’s not like they’ll be breaking the bank for him and considering Johnson has never won anything significant, you’ll think he’ll cherish the opportunity to play for a title.