James Johnson: 5 potential landing spots in 2017 NBA free agency
By Simon Smith
Following a reclamation season with the Miami Heat, here are five potential landing spots in 2017 NBA free agency for James Johnson.
The past week has seen a raft of moves made by team’s trying to place themselves into contention alongside the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets. Paul George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jimmy Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, on the free agency side of things, there are a host of under-the-radar players who have to yet to come to terms with a team for the upcoming season.
One of those is James Johnson, whose past season with the Miami Heat was a revelation, but relatively unexpected. It’s not often that a player who has recently turned 30, and playing for his fifth team in eight seasons, emerges to produce by far the best year of his career.
But that’s what happened with Johnson this past season, as he finally lived up to his potential as one of the more versatile players in the league. Finishing fifth in voting for Sixth Man of the Year, Johnson averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals in 27.4 minutes per game.
Just as notable as Johnson’s on-court transformation was his physical transformation. Having entered training camp with the Heat at 275 pounds and 14.5 percent body fat, by midseason Johnson had trimmed down to an impressive 238 pounds and 6.75 percent body fat. As Johnson himself put it:
"“….I’m not finished….I’m just going to keep going, see how far it takes me. I feel like that the more I lose the more I unleash skills that I didn’t think I was capable of having or doing.”"
At present, Johnson finds himself in limbo as the Heat await the outcome of their recent meeting with All-Star Gordon Hayward. With that in mind, here are five potential landing spots for Johnson in free agency.