Denver could look to move pieces after their first-round exit.
The Denver Nuggets went 54-28 this season and still couldn't get out of the first round, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games last weekend.
An early exit like that tends to shake things loose, and the front office is already weighing what to do with a roster that came up short.
Cam Johnson, who just finished a rough first season in Denver, is the name getting some traction.
Denver acquired Johnson last July from the Brooklyn Nets for Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick.
The idea was to slot a proven wing next to Nikola Jokic and give the offense more spacing, but it didn't play out that way.
Johnson went down with a knee injury in December that cost him over a month, and even after he came back, he looked like a guy still searching for where he fit.
He put up 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 54 games while shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. The efficiency was fine, but 12.2 is his lowest scoring average since his second year.
The Clippers Are Interested
According to ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel, the Los Angeles Clippers are a team to watch.
Brooklyn has been loosely mentioned as a reunion spot, but Siegel pointed to Los Angeles as the more serious suitor.
"Sources told ClutchPoints that the Los Angeles Clippers are a team expected to express interest in Johnson," Siegel wrote. "Of course, potential interest in Johnson does hinge on what ultimately happens with Kawhi Leonard, a veteran star multiple teams attempted to trade for in February."
Why Johnson Makes Sense for the Clippers
Los Angeles went 42-40 this season and then blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to the Golden State Warriors in the play-in, which pretty much summed up the whole year.
The front office had already traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline for Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin, so the franchise is clearly retooling.
What isn't changing is Leonard.
He played 65 games and put up a career-high 27.9 points per game with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 50.5 percent shooting. That part is working.
The rest of the roster needs work, and a 6-foot-8 wing who can space the floor and guard multiple spots is exactly the profile Los Angeles should be chasing.
Johnson's expiring $23 million deal sweetens things for salary matching, and the Clippers have enough tradeable contracts and draft picks from the deadline haul to make a real offer.
The Leonard question looms over all of it.
The two-time Finals MVP has one year left on his deal, and whether the Clippers commit to him or trade him will shape every other move the franchise makes this summer.
If he's back, pairing him with Garland and Johnson gives this team a real identity.
If he's gone, none of this matters.