Nets sign Tyler Johnson for dirt cheap after Bubble performance
By Adam Weinrib
The Brooklyn Nets have signed Tyler Johnson after a great few weeks in the Orlando Bubble. Didn’t see that coming!
It feels like only a few months ago (it was) that we prattled on about how the Nets couldn’t be fooled by Tyler Johnson’s Bubble show and could not afford to dole out a massive contract to the point guard.
Well, egg on our face, huh?
The Nets fit Johnson back onto their roster in a deal announced on Friday, and the bucket-getting guard cost only the guaranteed minimum. At that price, we can’t quibble with this one!
The Nets announce they’ve re-signed Tyler Johnson. Am told it’s for the guaranteed minimum. Johnson had a good showing with the Nets in the bubble.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) November 27, 2020
Johnson averaged 12.0 points per game and shot 38.9% from range in his eight games in lockdown with the Nets, a vast improvement on the 28.9% he shot in Phoenix in the earlier portion of 2019-20.
It’s safe to say that Johnson is worth more than pocket change to return as a third point guard, and the fact that Brooklyn was able to nab him for this cost feels like a coup. We were worried they’d be goaded into overpaying him as opposed to addressing other needs in free agency; instead, Johnson arrives simply as another cheap alternative at the tail end of the period.
He’ll blend in with Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet midway through the depth chart; Johnson will serve as the third PG behind Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Over the summer, Johnson himself called us out for worrying about his burdensome cost, and we deserve a taste of our own medicine right about now.
The Hate.....how I’ve missed you ❤️. pic.twitter.com/P6XBnatgMf
— Tyler Johnson (@Pusha650) July 29, 2020
Johnson is an effective volume scorer and pressure cooker in third-unit situations, and has shown us a lot as a facilitator, too. Clearly, this man took the Nets’ offer sheet several years ago to heart, and played his best basketball as a desperation fill-in for the scrappy unit that Brooklyn sent to Orlando.
Did that give him goodwill with the organization? Was he willing to take less to stay here, too?
Regardless of the circumstance, it’s impossible to complain about this. The Nets have retained another good one.
