Miami Heat forward James Johnson: Then, now and what’s to come
By Chase Eyrich
It’s been a long road for James Johnson, but he may have finally found a forever home with the Miami Heat.
It’s been a long journey in the NBA for James Johnson. The first round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2009 draft has spent time with five teams in his eight years in the league. But now he might have found his home on a new four-year, $60 million contract with the Miami Heat.
In return, we have seen the best numbers in Johnson’s career. Once again we can expect this was part of president Pat Riley’s master plan to piece together a group of misfits that work together smoothly. But his transition to the Heat hasn’t been as smooth as some would have hoped for.
It wasn’t received well by Heat Nation when Johnson was first signed to a one-year deal. Even after having his best year across the board, many fans were still questioning Riley’s decision to give Johnson a four-year contract of that magnitude, while accustomed to coming off the bench.
So why would Riley do such a thing? Because it works. Whether it’s coming off the bench while being paired with Tyler Johnson to become The Brothers Johnson, or taking a starting role, he has been valuable to this team.
While Johnson’s numbers have made a slight decrease this season compared to last, he is filling multiple roles. Some due to injuries and some due to trying to find the right lineup. Either way, he has been versatile and extremely open to doing whatever the team needs him to. He’s irreplaceable on the defensive end and does so much on offense that is not displayed on the stat sheet.
As a player, he has an incredible work ethic that goes unmatched. It leads us to the question, are we seeing the best James Johnson, or is he just getting started?
His journey has been unique to say the least, as we look at where Johnson started, where he is now, and where his game may take him.