Boston Celtics: 15 players you forgot played for the Celtics
3. Joe Johnson
The Boston Celtics selected a young and talented Joe Johnson 10th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft. He would only play 48 games for the Celtics during his rookie year before being traded to the Phoenix Suns partway through the season. There was no real reason for the Celtics to trade Johnson other than wanting some experienced veterans on the team during a playoff run.
Those 48 games played for the Celtics during the first half of Johnson’s rookie year resulted in 33 starts, 6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Although the Celtics never really gave him the chance, Johnson would go on to make the NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2002) and become a seven-time All-Star (2007-2012, 2014) during his career.
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Johnson is definitely the one player that got away from the Celtics. He became an All-Star caliber player for six other teams and made each one a better team, including the 2006 USA National Team. Johnson averaged 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game during his 17-year career.
He became an excellent 3-point shooter (37 percent for his career) and was the 42nd player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points. It could have been something special to watch Johnson develop into an All-Star on the Celtics next to Paul Pierce.