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Toronto Raptors Sign Wake Forest’s James Johnson

By John Woodcock

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The past week has been really exciting in the world of NBA free agency. LeBron James went back to Cleveland. The Miami Heat corralled Chris Bosh with the max and then signed Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade to save their team model. The Dallas Mavericks poached Chandler Parsons and the Houston Rockets were left high and dry with only Trevor Ariza to show for their cap room maneuvering. Closer to home, the Charlotte Hornets swung at Gordon Hayward, missed, and recovered somewhat by signing Marvin Willliams and Brian Roberts.

In all of this excitement, a minor signing escaped my notice. Yet we would not be Old North Banter if we were not watching out for Big Four alumni making moves. So what happened?

The Toronto Raptors signed free agent forward James Johnson to a 2 year, $5 million contract

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    • James Johnson was on Wake Forest’s basketball team in the Dino Gaudio years. Johnson was an athletic 6’9” forward that didn’t really fit down low, but played on a team with lots of options at the wing. Johnson never established a true position. Johnson was originally drafted by the Bulls but bounced around the NBA, including one previous stop in Toronto.

    Johnson spent last season with the Memphis Grizzlies where his talents and their defensive mentality meshed well and Johnson averaged 7 pts, 3 reb, and 1 blk in eighteen minutes per game. Johnson’s length and athleticism were highly disruptive to opposing wings. This is likely what Toronto is hoping to capitalize on.

    James Herbert of CBSsports.com noted that Toronto was bounced from the playoffs last year because they had no answer for Joe Johnson on defense. James Johnson could slow him down. His offensive limitations are not as big a deal with the Raptors because Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and others can carry the offensive load. Hopefully, James Johnson’s return to Toronto will turn out better than his first tour.

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