Hornets keen on offloading Stephenson after failed experiment this season…
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The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly in discussions with the Charlotte Hornets over a trade deal which will see Joe Johnson swap places with Lance Stephenson.
The two teams have previously talked about the possibility of Stephenson moving to Brooklyn, but reports claimed that the last deal involved center Brook Lopez.
While those discussions went cold, it appears as though the two franchises are back negotiating and Johnson could be the new piece in the deal as the Nets look to dump his contract.
“The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have restarted trade discussions, this time focused on guard Joe Johnson, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
“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.”
Charlotte have won eight of their last 10 games to move past the Nets into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and it appears as though they are content with parting ways with Stephenson despite the fact that he only arrived last summer from the Indiana Pacers.
Stephenson has been unable to co-exist with Kemba Walker in the back court, and so Johnson could well be better for team chemistry and would bring a significant amount of maturity and experience to the roster.
Nevertheless, he also brings with him a contract that sees him paid $24.9m next season plus the rest of his $23.1m for this season.
Johnson revealed on Sunday that he had been struggling with tendinitis in his knee all season but he remains just below his career averages as the Nets continue to struggle.
Brooklyn are reportedly up for sale and looking to rebuild by shedding the big contracts they handed out to the likes of Johnson, Lopez and Deron Williams but they haven’t been able to move any of their stars on yet.
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