Johnson joined the 76ers this summer, signing a one-year, $11 million contract. The 76ers had a lot of cap space, and the one-year nature of the deal means that it doesn’t harm their long-term flexibility, but that’s a lot of money to pay someone if you expect them to sit on your bench. Therefore, though the 76ers have a deep frontcourt, featuring Joel Embiid, Richaun Holmes, and Jahlil Okafor at center, with Dario Saric and Ben Simmons at power forward, it is clear that the team’s management expects Johnson to have a clear path to the floor. Johnson is now 30-years-old, and his performance declined slightly in 2016-17, his second year as a Celtic. While his workload was nearly the same in both seasons in Boston, his per-36 numbers fell slightly, especially in rebounds and blocks. Nonetheless, Johnson remains an effective player, likely to see reserve minutes. His Fantasy effectiveness has waned, and at this point he is probably only an option in very deep settings.
In his first season with the Celtics, Johnson essentially picked up where he left off in Toronto, providing strong interior defense and rebounding while scoring efficiently around the rim. The 29-year-old averaged 7.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while converting 58.5 percent of his field goals, more than 85 percent of which came from inside of 10 feet. While Johnson started 76 games in 2015-16, he's expected to shift to what could be a permanent bench role as four-time All-Star Al Horford arrives in Boston. Given Horford's ability to space the floor, he and Johnson will play together at times, but Johnson's workload will likely take a minor dip nonetheless. He'll also face competition for minutes from Kelly Olynyk, Tyler Zeller and Jonas Jerebko, though Johnson's superior defense may provide him an advantage in that battle.
After playing six productive years in Toronto, the 28-year-old Johnson joins a Celtics team desperate for his rim protection and savvy defensive play. Last year, in 26 minutes per game, Johnson averaged 9.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 57 percent from the field. Johnson and fellow newcomer David Lee give coach Brad Stevens some veteran leadership to add to his young frontcourt of Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, and Tyler Zeller. Expect Stevens to mix and match lineups to frustrate opponents and maximize each big mans' skills. With the Celtics needing to improve their help-side defense, expect Johnson's shot blocking numbers to return to the 1.1-plus per game levels he experienced in 2010 through 2014. His stats are not flashy, but he provides consistent big man production. The only question as he enters his 11th NBA season is this: might Johnson be packaged with other assets when GM Danny Ainge makes his next big trade? Either way, Johnson will provide steady, under-the-radar production.
Heading into his 10th NBA season, Johnson is effectively the old man in a young Raptors' starting lineup, but as one of the last players to jump directly from high school to the NBA, he's amazingly still just 27 years old. The power forward's standout athleticism can create problems for larger, slower opponents at both ends of the court, and while he isn't a focus of the Raptors' offense, Johnson supplies more than his share of highlight reel putbacks and slams when the opportunity presents itself. Johnson played in 77 games last season and averaged a career-high 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 29 minutes per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the free-throw line. He even added a little three-point shooting to his arsenal as a nice bonus for his fantasy owners, hitting on 20 of 66 attempts from beyond the arc. Lower body injuries have become an issue over the last couple of seasons, and heading into the final year of his contract, there's some question about Johnson's future in Toronto. If he can stay healthy, though, Johnson could follow in Kyle Lowry's footsteps and come through with a big contract year.
Johnson played solid minutes in the second half of last season, thanks to the injuries to Andrea Bargnani and the trade sending frontcourt mate Ed Davis away from Toronto. He finished the season with averages of 10.0 points (55 percent from the field, 73 percent from the line), 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocks. While his numbers were far from spectacular, his high field-goal percentage coupled with his contribution in the defensive categories made him a versatile pickup in standard leagues after the All-Star break. With Bargnani out of the way for this coming season, Johnson should see plenty of minutes in his 2013-14 campaign, possibly repeating a similar performance to last year's. He played 81 games last season and should be a safe late-round flier as long as he remains healthy throughout the year. Heading into next season at the age of 26, Johnson still has room to develop to become a more consistent player. Even alongside sophomore standout Jonas Valanciunas, Johnson should be able to have a fantasy-relevant season for most league formats.
The addition of Valanciunas could hit Johnson the hardest of any returning Raptor. With Jonas V at center Bargnani will shift to the four, leaving Johnson battling with Ed Davis for minutes behind them. Johnson is an inconsistent but high-energy player who lives at the rim, fights for rebounds, and gets exposed if he's relied on too heavily. Unless he or Davis get dealt expect Johnson's minutes and production to plunge.
With Chris Bosh trolling the paint in Miami, Johnson was given the opportunity to take over as the Raptors’ primary power forward during the 2010-11 season. He had an up-and-down season, but his solid stretches were good enough to warrant fantasy consideration going forward. Before suffering through an ankle injury down the stretch, Johnson put together a 27-game run in January and February that saw him average 12.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. He also displayed continued excellence in his field-goal percentage (56.8) while improving from the charity stripe (78.8). Unfortunately Johnson’s ankle injury, which eventually led to offseason surgery, led to an opportunity for his main competition for minutes, Ed Davis, to get more playing time down the stretch. The Raptors will have a delicate situation with these two, as the team has already handed Johnson a sizable long-term contract, but Davis was the team’s 2010 first-round pick. In all likelihood, Johnson will eventually take a backseat to Davis, but the 24-year-old still has some upside if he’s able to prove his ankle injury is a thing of the past and nab a significant role.
Johnson will be the Raptors' primary power forward, but he may start most games on the bench. The extent of Johnson’s value in fantasy will hinge on the team’s decision to use him as a starter or off the bench. In five games as a starter last season, Johnson averaged 17.8 points, six rebounds and 1.0 block in 33 minutes per game.
Johnson's value took a big hit when he was dealt to the Raptors, as he went from the Bucks' starting power forward to fighting with Reggie Evans for minutes off the bench. Johnson is perceived to have more upside than Evans, but unless Chris Bosh gets hurt he won't see enough court time to show it.
After two cups of coffee with the Pistons in his first two years in the league, Johnson finally got a chance to show what he could do with extended playing time last season, and he did not disappoint. He'll never be a scorer, but he already appears to be an elite shot blocker and a decent rebounder. He'll likely be a regular part of the rotation this season.
Despite having only 163 NBA minutes under his belt, Johnson, 20, attracted some attention on the free agent market before re-signing with Detroit. He spent most of last season dominating the NBDL before he had a cup of coffee with the Pistons in April. In the last four games of the regular-season, he had 43 points, 32 rebounds, and a whopping 11 blocks. He may need a strong preseason to break into the rotation, but his days in the NBDL may finally be over.
Johnson still has a long way to go before he's a viable option on the Detroit roster, but he's had some exciting moments during his brief time in the NBA. He'll sit at the end of the Pistons bench and probably play only in blowouts.
