The Miami Heat Tip Off: The Mystery of Tyler Johnson
By Ivan Mora
The latest edition of the Miami Heat Tip-Off, a weekly AllUCanHeat column, is here.
A lot can be said of exactly how productive this past 2017-18 campaign was, but something that can’t be compared to that statement was how Tyler Johnson’s year ended.
It is dubious to pronounce the immediate decline of Johnson’s career, but what we have seen lately doesn’t provide much optimism either.
His averages have dropped and with the comeback and resurgence of Dwyane Wade, his role has also, in more ways than one, diminished. He averaged 14.8 points per game, down from 16.6, and couldn’t find the right balance offensively. He seemed to have lost his offensive growth and found himself confused, debating whether to enforce his isolation game or step back in a more settled role, waiting for his jump shot.
He also had a drop in assists from 3.9 to 2.9 and had a slight decrease in rebounds from 4.8 to 4.4. Of course, his minutes were also taken away, but that speaks of his inconsistency when called upon. Not to take anything away from his overall game, especially as a great role player, but it does have issues.
The Brothers Johnson were the highlight at one point but with so many lineup changes and question marks looming into the undecided future, it hasn’t been what Miami expected out of this culture.
Upcoming Challenges
Does Johnson deserve to be recognized as a potential future star within Miami or is a trade imminent this upcoming off-season?
The new increase in his salary officially kicks in this upcoming year from $5 million to a drastic $19 million per year, for the next two years. A signing decision that still haunts Miami to this day.
It is nothing directly against the guard, he is a fascinating role player and a solid one at that, but he isn’t a $19 million player. You can mirror some of his game to that of Klay Thompson, but even then, Thompson’s a better player and his salary is close to $2 million less.
A hard decision has to be made from the Miami Heat front office regarding this contract. If they can find some way to restructure it (maybe signing him to a contract extension?), then it might work. If not, as good as a player as he is and can be, especially coming off the bench in a more shooter capacity with a strong drive, he is not a $19 million dollar player. At least not now.
Upcoming Predictions
The Miami Heat have to find trade options for both him and Hassan Whiteside; at least explore the trade market to see what works and what doesn’t. But it definitely needs to be an option and addressed.
They can’t expect for these two players to eat up close to half of their salary cap for next year, averaging the same production they did this past year. It’s a step backward if they expect a rejuvenation year from both.
Next: Miami Heat: Rodney McGruder's 2017-18 season in review
It has to be the first mark on the agenda when the off-season officially kicks off and by the looks of it, it could be a long summer for fans as well.