ESPN NBA Insiders published five fictional trade offers Wednesday intended to benefit all parties and alter the title race in the process, including an interesting deal between the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.
Spoiler: Yes, it involves Nets forward Cameron Johnson – the most sought-after trade piece heading into the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
How Orlando wins the Johnson sweepstakes
Magic receive: Cameron Johnson, Keon Johnson
Nets receive: Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Orlando's 2026 first-round pick (top-12 protected), 2027 first-round pick swap (top-10 protected), 2028 second-round pick (more favorable of LAL or WAS)
5 fictional trades (yes, fictional) that would change the trade deadline @kpelton @Herring_NBA @ProfessorDrz https://t.co/huxvdu8iVq
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 15, 2025
The Magic would likely end up in the luxury tax for the first time since 2010-11 here, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, as the franchise handed out $550 million in contracts last summer to Harris, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Moritz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze.
Orlando is also slated to give former No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero a $250 million extension. If the Magic did choose to take on the $43 million owed to Johnson over the next two seasons ($20.5 million in 2025-26, $22.5 million in 2026-27), that would end up putting the organization over the first apron as well. However, the obvious upside would be that the worst three-point shooting team in the league adds a high-character forward that's having his career-best season at 19.6 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from behind the arc.
Johnson posted a team-high 24 points in Tuesday's 132-114 win over the Trail Blazers after missing five games due to a right ankle sprain. The former UNC star is averaging 22.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game since the start of December.
With this move, Brooklyn would be able to stockpile draft capital on top of its 31 picks over the next seven years (four first-round picks in 2025) and also increase projected cap space this summer by slashing the $7.5 million team option tied to Harris. It's a trade idea with enough value and merit to discuss, just largely contingent on how the Nets view D'Angelo Russell, Cam Thomas and potential 2025 draft targets heading into next season.
Anthony, who has averaged 12.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 25 minutes per contest throughout his time in Orlando, is owed $13.1 million in 2025-26 with a $13.1 million team option in 2026-27. The 24-year-old point guard was drafted No. 15 overall out of North Carolina in 2020.