Kings get James Johnson, who is he???
- Thread starter eliczone
- Start date
I think this pretty much guarantees the end of T-Will in Sacramento. That could change depending on whether there are any other trades in the works for us and how that affects our backcourt and SF rotations but IMHO, its safe to way that T-Will won't be back.
The thing is, we probably could have brought Williams back for the same money who IMHO is a better player overall. Certainly more talented.
The thing is, we probably could have brought Williams back for the same money who IMHO is a better player overall. Certainly more talented.
All that matters in terms of flexibility to make moves is
Before this Trade
Cap space: $6 million
After this Trade
Cap space: $3.2 million
That is all that matters in this. The fact that we sold our 2nd round pick and made some money and then traded another 2nd round pick for JJ is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to cap room and having enough cap space to either sign a good player or trade in a good player.
This trade is a lateral move that limits our other options and does not improve us enough (if at all). I guess that is the joy of having broke owners, you look through the rubbish bin to get a feed.
In our case we are trading for average to below average players in hope they surprise us. Bottom line is this trade likely costs us T-Will and in the scheme of things T-Will is a better and more talented player than James Johnson.
I am a Raptors fan and I think the Kings got an absolute steal. The only reason JJ was traded was because of a backlog at the SF spot, and a situation where he was the odd man out (due to Linas Kleiza being kept to solidify a good relationship with Jonas Valanciunas coming next season). He was the statistically the best defender on a decent defensive team with the Raps.
After reading these posts, it has become evident that many people think his shooting is poor, and while that may be true, in his 2 years with the Raps his shooting improved tremendously (he worked with a shooting coach practically every day). He is still only 24, and in a few years, he could be an amazing 6-7th man off the bench. Like a sparkplug almost. But that is the thing. He is no starting SF. Still probably better than any 2nd rounder you are gonna get, but he is no starter.
One thing Kings fans should know is that he had a problem with the Toronto coach (Dwane Casey) and got benched for maybe 3 games. Apparently it was nothing too serious and Casey over reacted to make an example out of him because of a few other incidents where younger players acted out. Casey said that all was well and spoke praises of JJ, but still, problems with coaches is never good.
After reading these posts, it has become evident that many people think his shooting is poor, and while that may be true, in his 2 years with the Raps his shooting improved tremendously (he worked with a shooting coach practically every day). He is still only 24, and in a few years, he could be an amazing 6-7th man off the bench. Like a sparkplug almost. But that is the thing. He is no starting SF. Still probably better than any 2nd rounder you are gonna get, but he is no starter.
One thing Kings fans should know is that he had a problem with the Toronto coach (Dwane Casey) and got benched for maybe 3 games. Apparently it was nothing too serious and Casey over reacted to make an example out of him because of a few other incidents where younger players acted out. Casey said that all was well and spoke praises of JJ, but still, problems with coaches is never good.
I actually like James Johnson, I watched him in college. He's a good defender with good length for the SF position. He's sort of a SF/PF tweener. Technically he doesn't need the ball to be effective, but unfortunately he'll have spurts where he'll look for his shot. He's one of those guys that thinks he's a better offensive player than he really is.
Overall not a bad pickup, but hardly anything to get excited about. I predict Smart will give him about 20-25 mins a game.
Overall not a bad pickup, but hardly anything to get excited about. I predict Smart will give him about 20-25 mins a game.
Its a fine move, and I tend to overvalue every asset including second rounders.
He is the best SF on our roster right now. Sure, that doesn't say a lot, but it is true. He is also one of the few players at that position with some room to improve. He seems to fit in with what we need at that position aside from his shooting, which is still better than our other options. 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game at the SF spot is very good. He'll only take about 8 shots per game from our other players. At 5 or so rebounds it would make him our best rebounder at that spot too. His FG% (450) was also higher than everyone on the roster aside from Evans and Thompson. And obviously his size for an SF is really good.
I don't think this means the end for TWill either. We used him at PG and SG more than SF last season anyways. The kings like him with Jimmer (who is struggling in the summer league without him).... The Kings like him in general, including the players (Cousins has already said he wants him back. I still think there is a good chance Terrence is signed and leading the bench unit as a PG/Combo with Jimmer or Thornton .. but there is still a lot of time left between now and the start of the season.
He is the best SF on our roster right now. Sure, that doesn't say a lot, but it is true. He is also one of the few players at that position with some room to improve. He seems to fit in with what we need at that position aside from his shooting, which is still better than our other options. 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game at the SF spot is very good. He'll only take about 8 shots per game from our other players. At 5 or so rebounds it would make him our best rebounder at that spot too. His FG% (450) was also higher than everyone on the roster aside from Evans and Thompson. And obviously his size for an SF is really good.
I don't think this means the end for TWill either. We used him at PG and SG more than SF last season anyways. The kings like him with Jimmer (who is struggling in the summer league without him).... The Kings like him in general, including the players (Cousins has already said he wants him back. I still think there is a good chance Terrence is signed and leading the bench unit as a PG/Combo with Jimmer or Thornton .. but there is still a lot of time left between now and the start of the season.
AK47 last NBA year 6'9" 235# 31.2 MIN 11.7PT 5.1 REB 3 AST 1.2 BLK 1.3 STL .467 FG%
James Johnson 11-12 6'9" 248# 25.2 MIN 9.1 PT 4.7 REB 2 AST 1.4 BLK 1.1 STL .450 FG%
Is there a more statistically similar SF to AK in the league right now? Looks like Petrie was after a specific skill set and it's hard to argue with taking a shot on Johnson at the price of a 2nd rounder.
James Johnson 11-12 6'9" 248# 25.2 MIN 9.1 PT 4.7 REB 2 AST 1.4 BLK 1.1 STL .450 FG%
Is there a more statistically similar SF to AK in the league right now? Looks like Petrie was after a specific skill set and it's hard to argue with taking a shot on Johnson at the price of a 2nd rounder.
Sacramento Kings where Dorell Wright is not enough of an upgrade but James Johnson is! 
At least we have some answer for power SFs now, and anybody, just ANYBODY who wants to play defense has to be welcomed, no matter how medicore they are. Of course, given Keith Smart he'll probably be playing center.
So let's see - good size for a small forward, strong defensive player with great steal and block numbers, can take it to the rack, not a great outside shooter, sometimes takes plays off. Johnson looks to me like he already has proven to be the middle-of-the-line projection for Terrence Jones.
Does he start? I don't know. It probably depends on a lot of things, including how the roster shakes out from here on forwards, and (presuming we keep them) whether Salmons or Outlaw decide to play like Salmons or Outlaw again. But even if he isn't starting he'll probably challenge for 20 minutes. I think it's a decent move - not a "Dear Diary, Our offseason is finally complete!" move, but a decent one. Hopefully we can manage to get something done shipping out a bad contract or two soon enough to appease the wolves.
Does he start? I don't know. It probably depends on a lot of things, including how the roster shakes out from here on forwards, and (presuming we keep them) whether Salmons or Outlaw decide to play like Salmons or Outlaw again. But even if he isn't starting he'll probably challenge for 20 minutes. I think it's a decent move - not a "Dear Diary, Our offseason is finally complete!" move, but a decent one. Hopefully we can manage to get something done shipping out a bad contract or two soon enough to appease the wolves.
Monetarily it would not have to, and if nothing else Johnson and Williams together would bring some desperately needed defense. But as far as roster spots etc., since we are a franchise that can't afford to just do the right thing basketballlwise and start dumping/amnestying/waiving extra bodies, it could become a numbers game.
Not QUITE the freakish blocks?
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
Not QUITE the freakish blocks?
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
Not QUITE the freakish blocks?
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
No comparison at all on that particular front. AK was a better shotblocker than Dwight. Johnson isn't an interior anchor so much as a shotblcoking PF the way a Wallace used to be. But for us any of that stuff helps. Especially if our rookie PF is going to run around with his arms dangling straight downward all the time.
So stay away. This team is awful unless you haven't noticed. We are well willing to be positive for a team that sincerely seems to be trying to develop a winning team. We don't have that and you can't twist it to some pie in the sky flight of optimism. What we have been doing isn't working and to look at the latest deal closely invites careful analysis to see how it fails. If you posted more often, and believe me, I don't believe for a second that after 50 posts you decided it was too negative for you. Criticize us if you wish or take part with a positive comment - which certainly wasn't the major reason for posting this latest note - and help change this culture that you are claiming exists.
He was a decent pick up. There are lots of poster saying that. Ignore the rest and maybe your sensitivity to our negativism won't be such a problem. Hey, and now you can blame me for why you don't post. That makes it easy.
He was a decent pick up. There are lots of poster saying that. Ignore the rest and maybe your sensitivity to our negativism won't be such a problem. Hey, and now you can blame me for why you don't post. That makes it easy.
I think James Johnson is a great option for a team that needs a good, defensive SF who is looking for a Gerald Wallace clone. And yes, that's something this team needs. But what did our SF struggle to do last season (which is the main reason we brought in Salmons)? None of them could hit the 3PT shot! And now we bring in a guy who only attempts 60 in ONE SEASON!
Does JJ improve our team defensively? Absolutely. But again, we're still stuck with our main concern of spreading the floor. It's more and more apparent that Smart is just going to run up and down the floor, with no real offense in place again. 95% of our team is successful at one major thing; driving towards the rim in iso situations. We just drafted a PF who is known for that. Now we just added another SF (after complaining about how Salmons and Evans did it all season) who is known for doing JUST that!
Does JJ improve our team defensively? Absolutely. But again, we're still stuck with our main concern of spreading the floor. It's more and more apparent that Smart is just going to run up and down the floor, with no real offense in place again. 95% of our team is successful at one major thing; driving towards the rim in iso situations. We just drafted a PF who is known for that. Now we just added another SF (after complaining about how Salmons and Evans did it all season) who is known for doing JUST that!
Also, apparently this guy was benched halfway into last season after either complaining about his role in the team's offense, or getting caught smoking pot in the team plane's bathroom. 2nd has never been confirmed, but I guess a majority of Raptor fans know that one way or another, he clashed with the coaching staff which led to being traded for peanuts (they gave up a 1st to get him). So we have a young, athletic knucklehead who can't shoot and complains about his role with a team. I guess I was wrong with about the trade....he'll fit right in with the rest of the crew!
The small forward committee just got larger. Johnson sounds like another guy that Smart can play with in the match-up game. If there is a bigger, slower SF on the other team, play this guy. If there is a smaller, quicker SF, play Salmons or T-Will or Outlaw or Garcia or whomever. It will be interesting to see if the committee gets smaller in the near term from another Petrie trade.
I was really hoping Smart would move MT to 6th man, but if JJ starts, then they will need MT's shooting in the starting lineup.
PG Tyreke
SG MT
SF JJ
PF JT
C Cousins
Unless Smart mixes it up and starts Jimmer with Tyreke. Not saying that's what I'd do, but this current roster is really unbalanced, especially lacking 3pt shooting and passing. Offseason isn't over, but I'm not optimistic there will be any other deals worth talking about.
PG Tyreke
SG MT
SF JJ
PF JT
C Cousins
Unless Smart mixes it up and starts Jimmer with Tyreke. Not saying that's what I'd do, but this current roster is really unbalanced, especially lacking 3pt shooting and passing. Offseason isn't over, but I'm not optimistic there will be any other deals worth talking about.