New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Claxton to Warriors, Hawks Add Cam Johnson, Nets Get Kuminga

By virtue of the trades they made at the deadline this season, the Atlanta Hawks actually have a good bit of cap space flexibility this summer. Before making any moves, they have $40.9 million dollars in cap space before hitting the luxury tax threshold. That's a significant amount to be used in trades this summer and they're going to need every bit of it to address needs in their interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting. They might even need to add a backup lead guard/ball handler.

One team that is almost certainly going to be considering a trade this summer is the Golden State Warriors. They lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs after an injury to superstar point guard Steph Curry and will almost certainly be considering adding more pieces to keep pace in a competitive Western Conference. They found their second scorer at the deadline in Jimmy Butler - now, the question shifts to shoring up a defense that is becoming extremely reliant on 35 year-old Draymond Green.

The Brooklyn Nets are facing the exciting, but dangerous, prospect of re-working their entire roster. Outside of center Nic Claxton and wing Cam Johnson, there aren't any established pieces that also have value to contending teams. Given that they're firmly in a rebuild and preparing to make a whopping four picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, they can take on veteran talent to both keep them at the salary floor and take gambles on interesting NBA rotation players with the chance to scale up in larger roles.

One player that should attract a lot of interest this summer is Jonathan Kuminga. On paper, Kuminga is a no-brainer for the Warriors to bring back. He turns 23 in October and already has career averages of 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Kuminga has shown flashes of incredible potential, scoring 30 points on only 18 shots in Game 3 of the Warrior's second-round series against the Timberwolves with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. However, he lost a lot of playing time with the arrival of Jimmy Butler and struggled in the first round against the Rockets. It is known that coach Steve Kerr doesn't view his current game as a fit with the Warriors. Hence, a team like Brooklyn makes sense as a spot where he can play heavy minutes to develop into the best version of himself.

"The best thing that happens to him is if they sign-and-trade him," one NBA scout told Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

If the Warriors moved Kuminga elsewhere, how could it benefit them and would the Hawks make sense in a third team in a hypothetical deal? Here is one possible framework.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Cameron Johnson

Golden State Warriors Receive: Nic Claxton, Kobe Bufkin, Maxwell Lewis, 2025 1st round pick (via NYK, from BKN, #26), 2025 1st round pick (via HOU, from BKN, #27)

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Terance Mann, 2025 1st round pick (via LAL, from ATL, #22), 2031 1st round pick swap (via GSW)

Why the Hawks would do this: Cameron Johnson is a great shooting option with size who brings a little bit of creation ability and respectable defense. He had a career TS% of 63.2% last season and shot above 77th percentile on both corner and non-corner threes last season. This is while taking a career-high 7.2 attempts per season. He also shot 71% at the rim, which finished in the 83rd percentile league-wide and gives the Hawks another wing who can get downhill and score. On defense, he's not as strong as he once was, but he can hold his own against most small forwards and occasionally guards. The Hawks would be able to bring him off the bench as a great sixth man or occasionally insert him into the lineup. If they can get him, their frontcourt depth and shooting would be both improved heading into the 2025-26 season.

Why the Hawks would not do this: If he starts, Johnson might severely limit the development of Zaccharie Risacher and they do have some similarities in their play styles. That could be an issue for Atlanta because Risacher's development is one of the most important aspects of their future. Furthermore, Johnson is more suited towards taking on small forwards defensively rather than working against big power forwards. While Jalen Johnson usually takes care of that assignment, subbing in Cam Johnson if the latter misses time with injury could be a mismatch that the defense can expose.

Why the Warriors would do this: At his best, Claxton is an excellent shot-blocker with defensive versatility and hints of a more expanded scoring skillset. During the 2022-23 season, he led the league in FG% and finished 9th in DPOY voting because he averaged 3.0 blocks per game and routinely took on difficult defensive assignments. He also grabbed 11.1 rebounds a night and looked like one of the best young centers in basketball. Since then, he hasn't been as effective. However, Claxton played at his best off of elite creators like James Harden. He could be an excellent play finisher for Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler while creating an excellent defensive backcourt alongside Green. Bufkin hasn't been able to stay healthy in Atlanta, but he could become a nice backup guard for Curry and add to the strong defense the Warriors already have. Lewis missed a lot of the year with injuries, but he averaged 7.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 43.2% from the field and 37.0% from three-point range over his final 15 games of 2024-25. Taking a bet on a young 6'7 forward who can shoot is never a bad idea in the modern NBA.

Why the Warriors would not do this: Claxton's a consistently poor free throw shooter (51.3% from the charity stripe last season) and that doesn't fit with the type of players that Golden State usually acquires. He's also trending downwards as a shooter, only shooting 62.9% and 56.3% from the field in the two seasons after his league-leading FG% of 70.5%. Giving up a first-round pick to get a player who may already be on the decline is a worrisome gamble for the Warriors considering that they need to cash into the trio of Curry, Green and Butler.

Why the Nets would do this: Kuminga is an athletic downhill scorer who can occasionally be a strong defender on-ball. Brooklyn can give him a lot of minutes and they have ample cap space to take a swing on a player who could be a good scorer for them. He's an exceptionally strong scorer at the rim, hitting 72% of his attempts at the rim and finishing in the 87th percentile league-wide. Furthermore, it isn't like he's only capable of finishing at the rim. Kuminga has signs of a good jump shot that were evident in his 30-point explosion against the Wolves. In that game, he was scoring from the baseline and midrange. With some development, it's possible that he could become a more consistent scorer. Mann brings some veteran presence and defense to a roster in need of both while also helping the Nets remain at the salary floor.

Why the Nets would not do this: Kuminga's lack of a three-point shot really hurts his upside at the current moment. He's a respectable free throw shooter (for a big man) who shoots around 68% from the line and he shot 37% from deep on 2.2 attempts per game during his second season. However, neither are particularly strong indications that he's going to be able to stretch the floor at the level that is almost mandatory for NBA wings today. Mann is a solid defender for the Hawks, but he hasn't really become much of a scorer. If he has a good shooting season, he could raise his trade value slightly with the Nets, but that's hard to project at this stage of his career.

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