A few weeks ago the Brooklyn Nets tested the waters of possibly trading for Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson, giving them a home-town guy with some upside to sell to fans as the team starts what could be a messy rebuild. The deal involved Brook Lopez. However, after asking around the league about Stephenson they pulled back on the deal.
The Nets would love to dump Lopez’s contract, however if they dump Joe Johnson’s contract that would be better.
That’s part of what the Nets and Hornets are starting to discuss, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have restarted trade discussions, this time focused on guard Joe Johnson, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Hornets and Nets are discussing a larger package that would likely include guards Lance Stephenson and Gerald Henderson and forward Marvin Williams, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
According to the report Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has some interest in Johnson, who is owed $24.9 million next season, plus the rest of his $23.1 million for this season. Charlotte has won 8-of-10 and moved past the Nets to occupy the eighth and final playoff spot in the East if the postseason started today.
Johnson has seen his efficiency fall off this season as he has battled knee tendonitis. Johnson is shooting a still respectable 36.2 percent from three, but that is well off his 40 percent last season. Overall Johnson has a true shooting percentage of .516 and a PER of 14.3, both slightly below the league average.
That said, he’s likely a better fit off the ball for Charlotte than Lance Stephenson, who has not been able to coexist with Kemba Walker. Also, Johnson would likely be a chemistry upgrade in the locker room for Charlotte, a team that has looked to move Stephenson, their star signing of the summer.
For Brooklyn, they give Stephenson a fresh chance and he makes just $9 million next season, a reasonable gamble for the potential.