05-23-2023, 02:18 PM
(05-23-2023, 02:05 PM)omahen Wrote: This is from Vecenie about Johnson
Johnson led the team in scoring last season at 22 points per game and is still somehow only 23 years old. He’s a starting-caliber player with potential to be more than that, even if I worry a bit about his shooting consistency and decision-making. The good news? He’s just one of those dudes that is a constant bundle of energy. You never doubt that he’s going to bring it every night (even on nights getting sick after eating gas station barbecue). He was miscast as a No. 1 option for a large portion of the early season, and he struggled with his effectiveness.
But by the end of this season, he was pressuring the rim at an incredibly high level with his attack-oriented, aggressive nature. He’s like a heat-seeking missile dropping his shoulder and looking for contact to bump and create that little bit of separation from a big.
The issue with Johnson is that he’s a 6-foot-5 bowling-ball forward who doesn’t have elite length and, frankly, plays more like an undersized 4 man than a true wing. He only made 34 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s, per Synergy. From January onward, he made just 29.7 percent from 3 and is limited as a passer.
And then defensively, there are limitations at his size and build even with the energy he brings. But Johnson is useful already and will continue to get better. And almost more importantly, he’s locked in on an incredibly team-friendly contract over the next four years as the cap is set to rise. He’ll make just $74 million in that time, including just $17.5 million in 2025-26 and 2026-27 after the Spurs intelligently structured his contract with a descending value structure.
https://theathletic.com/4523292/2023/05/...fit-spurs/
Sounds a lot like Demar DeRozan. Spurs actually turned him into an undersized 4.