Seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson was recently bought out by the Brooklyn Nets and a whole host of teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder are reportedly interested in his services.
At 34 years old, Johnson is nearing the end of his career but he is still a talented scorer and should be able to help a playoff team in a reserve role. Which is why on Friday, LeBron James openly talked about the Cleveland Cavaliers adding Johnson to their roster.
From Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, who reports that the Cavs are the "favorites" to sign Johnson:
"He knows that we want him," James said before shootaround in preparation for tonight's game against the Toronto Raptors. "He knows that we want him and if he decides to come here, it'd be great. But if not, then we'll continue to move on with what we have."
Johnson was bought out of his contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, and the Cavaliers are the favorites to land the seven-time NBA All-Star when he clears waivers, league sources informed cleveland.com.
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James doesn't believe that integrating another rotation player on an already deep team in late February would be problematic.
"It's not tough at all. It's not tough," he said. "We got a veteran ball group and we know what we want to do and I think playing against Joe and competing against him, I think he's smart enough to be able to come in here and just get right into the flow of things. It's not hard at all."
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"He's a great piece for any team and if we're lucky enough to get him, it would mean something to us. If not, we have enough here to compete," James reiterated.
While the Cavs have an already deep roster, Johnson could provide some consistent scoring off the bench and can use his size to play either the two-guard or small forward positions, which will help Cleveland immensely when they utilize a small-ball lineup. Also with injuries to Iman Shumpert and Mo Williams, Johnson can more than fill in if the remain out for an extended period of time.
If Johnson does indeed sign with the Cavs, it will give Cleveland one more weapon to help them make a return trip to the NBA Finals.
