Nuggets steal Thunder’s dream trade target fans had been waiting years for.
While the OKC Thunder are looking to keep their championship core together this offseason, the rest of the league is simply trying to catch up.
On the first day of NBA free agency, it appears the Denver Nuggets may have made some significant strides toward achieving this ultimate goal.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Denver has agreed to trade Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for forward Cameron Johnson.
Nuggets snatch dream trade target away from OKC Thunder
Over the last several years, Johnson was a popular trade target among Thunder fans, largely due to his elite outside shooting abilities. Oklahoma City struggled to hit catch-and-shoot jumpers during their title run, and Johnson has knocked down at least 39.0 percent of his triples in each of his past four seasons.
Of course, the veteran isn’t merely just a one-dimensional player.
He can score off the dribble, make semi-advanced passing reads, and hold his own defensively. His overall game is extremely scalable, making him a highly sought-after piece for every contender.
If the Nuggets had been able to capitalize on Nikola Jokic’s passing and gravity during their second-round bout against OKC this past postseason, they very well may have gone on to win not just the series, but the 2025 NBA Finals.
To put it bluntly, Johnson is a mammoth on-court addition for Denver.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets also immediately save $17,275,985 in 2026 salary. They currently sit roughly $17 million below the first apron, which gives them full access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1 million).
That’s enough flexibility to snag one or two playoff-viable veterans, and Charania just reported a one-year deal between Bruce Brown and the Nuggets.
Depending on how much his 2026 salary turns out to be, the Nuggets may be able to add a sharpshooter like Luke Kennard or a backup center like Al Horford.
Whichever direction Denver takes from here, they should be able to clean up their depth issues and field a strong supplementary unit around Jokic.
Now, losing an unprotected first that will come during Jokic’s age-36 season definitely stings, but the franchise needed to capitalize on his prime years. He’s playing like one of the all-time greats, and players of his caliber rarely come around.
Sitting on their hands would have been a basketball crime.
Between the Nuggets adding Johnson and Brown, Dallas signing D’Angelo Russell, and Houston acquiring both Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, the Western Conference projects to be much tougher next season.
Because of this, it will be exceedingly difficult for Oklahoma City to be the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Kevin Durant-led Warriors.
Don’t expect any splashy moves from Sam Presti in retaliation. OKC barely sits below the luxury tax, and avoiding this penalty is an important goal for the organization in order to delay the repeater tax.
Plus, above all else, there’s simply no room on the roster, as the Thunder already have 15 players committed and ready to defend their title.
The OKC Thunder have had quite a busy week after winning the 2025 NBA Finals.
On Wednesday night, they snatched up arguably the biggest steal of this year’s draft, Thomas Sorber. Sunday, they signed both Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell to longer-term contract extensions
Along the way, Oklahoma City managed to make extra room on the roster for their new draft selections with the Dillon Jones trade this past Saturday.
Now, while these moves certainly deserve admiration and the respect from the fanbase, in an odd sense, perhaps the most conspicuous takeaway from the Thunder’s action-packed weekend is that Ousmane Dieng has once again found a way to survive yet another purge.Ousmane Dieng survives yet another Thunder trade decision
Last summer, it was the deal that shipped Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls. This year, it was 2024 first-rounder Dillon Jones being sent to the Washington Wizards.
And while both contributed more and showed higher potential in comparison, it’s Dieng who still finds himself residing in the Sooner State.
Of course, the forward does still have the allure of being just 22 years old and three years removed from being selected 11 overall in the NBA Draft, but since coming into the league back in 2022, the Frenchman has done nothing but underwhelm.
In 109 games played with the varsity team, Dieng has posted averages of 4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 29.3 percent from deep.
His time spent down with their development team, the OKC Blue, has certainly seen more impressive production and on-court showings from the youngster, as he’s averaging 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 47.2 percent shooting over 42 total games and even has an NBA G League Finals MVP attached to his name
However, considering how they’ve been in a win-now mode throughout the vast majority of his tenure with the team, he has not been given the proper run with the Thunder to help hone his craft in the big leagues.
Because of this, over the last few years, many have believed that the most logical course of action would be to move Ousmane Dieng to a rebuilding team with ample minutes available and a desire to develop young talent.
Frankly, a team like the Wizards would have been perfect.
As of this writing, however, the forward still finds himself under Thunder control heading into his fourth and final year of his rookie-scale contract.
