Brooklyn Nets: Grading the team’s transactions in the 2021 offseason
By Dylan Carter
4. Brooklyn Nets sign James Johnson to a 1-year, minimum contract
While he may not be the most extraordinary talent the league has to offer, James Johnson knows his role and plays it wonderfully. A 6-foot-7 forward with the positional versatility to guard wings, most forwards, and small-ball bigs, Johnson is a solid complementary piece for this particular Brooklyn Nets squad.
The term “three-headed dragon” gets tossed around a lot when a Big Three is formed, but Brooklyn’s top three feels more like Mecha King Ghidora—A triad so powerful it instills fear in its opponents. We know the leaders are going to get buckets, so the Nets needed more pieces like Johnson to do the dirty work instead.
Not only is Johnson a tenacious defender who pesters his matchup on and off the ball, but his bruting physicality drains their spirit along the way. Johnson isn’t afraid to step out to the perimeter and shuffle his feet to put his matchup in a torture chamber. That being said, he’s also a savvy veteran defender who can adapt to the needs of his team.
In a smaller, more defined role, Johnson won’t have to just figure things out for himself on the court as he did in New Orleans and Dallas, where he was pretty terrible last season. Neither of those teams is the pinnacle of team defense, and neither is Brooklyn, but Johnson should have no problem believing he’s the best defender on the court when playing against a fleet of reserves as the ninth man in Brooklyn’s rotation.
Johnson is no stranger to toughness. He’s a black belt in karate who assuredly fills an “enforcer” role for Brooklyn. In a league that’s shed its physical and bruting persona of the past, Johnson is a throwback player. As one of the mid-to-back end rotation players for this team, the Nets can afford to let the black belt get loose if things get chippy during high-intensity moments.
On a Nets squad where he won’t carry a large offensive workload, Johnson gets to focus on what he does best: defending, rebounding, and keeping alert off the ball to score when an opportunity presents itself. Plus, defenders will be more worried about the other players on the court, which should improve the quality of the shots he takes.
There are other solid options still on the free-agent market that may have helped the Nets even more than Johnson on a minimum contract, but this was a good addition nonetheless. Johnson adds a layer of defensive assurance and offensive competency that will give Brooklyn a boost off the pine. Just don’t ask him to be a volume shooter or scorer.