The Minnesota Timberwolves added another key piece to their future after acquiring James Johnson from the Miami Heat. Johnson was part of a seven-player trade that also involved Gorgui Dieng. Dieng is now with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Johnson is one of the Heat players who was undergoing tough times with the Miami Heat. Mentioned as one of the cagers that team president Pat Riley would be shipping this season, the 32-year-old gets a new lease on life with the rebuilding Timberwolves.
This season, the 16th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft has played in only 18 games. Per Basketball-Reference.com, he has averaged only 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. These are below his career averages.
Adding Johnson gives the Timberwolves more options in the wings. The 6-foot-7 cager owns a high 53.2-percent shooting clip from the field and 35.6-percent from beyond the arc. Assuming he is fit to play, he should be a curious complement to Karl-Anthony Towns and new recruit D'Angelo Russell.
Dieng's move to the Grizzlies provides Memphis with added size and a rim protector. Memphis has been looking for a big man to shore up its roster. The Senegalese player has played in 46 games this season, averaging 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
But all eyes will be on Johnson who had his share of issues this 2019-20 NBA season. After showing off last summer how fit he was, the 32-year-old cager showed up at Miami Heat training camp falling short of the conditioning requirements, the Sun-Sentinel reported. It was a bad start for the NBA veteran. However, it was already a known fact that he was among the players the Heat were planning to let go.
At that time, Johnson, along with Dion Waiters, Goran Dragic, and Hassan Whiteside, were players expected to be dealt away to address the team salary budget limitations the Heat had to deal with. From that list, Dragic is the only player still on the Heat roster. However, he has seen limited time this season due to injuries.
The Heat struck it big when they were able to swing a trade for Andre Iguodala. However, they fell short of landing Danilo Gallinari of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It remains to be seen if Miami will still pursue him in the offseason.
For the T-Wolves, nothing much is at stake this season. Putting in key pieces should also make them a team to watch this summer. They will likely target more players and hopefully perform better in the 2020-21 NBA wars.
