Why Amir Johnson's New Contract with Boston Celtics Will Prove to Be a Steal
The Boston Celtics entered the first day of free agency with a ton of money to either fill significant holes in their frontcourt or finally spear the white whale they’re rightfully fixated on (i.e. a superstar).
Simple supply and demand told us Boston wasn’t likely to land an All-Star, so attention quickly turned toward the pile of available and affordable centers. (To quickly name a few: Tyson Chandler, Robin Lopez, Omer Asik, Kosta Koufos and a few others were there for the taking.)
Instead, Boston swerved away from expectations and snagged Amir Johnson away from the Toronto Raptors with a tidy two-year, $24 million contract—the second year being non-guaranteed, according to the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett.
On the surface, this wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened, but it’s still more than acceptable for the rebuilding Celtics. When healthy—which wasn’t the case very often last season—Johnson is a rock-solid defender, versatile enough to switch on the perimeter, bang in the post, protect the rim and comfortably execute several different pick-and-roll coverages in a pinch.
He’s 6’9” and 28 years old, coming off a relatively down year that saw various injuries chew away at his consistency. Johnson appeared in 75 games, but snapped a two-season streak of surpassing 2,000 minutes. He averaged an efficient 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
But here’s the thing about this deal: It’s kind of amazing. If Johnson stays healthy and rekindles what made him so fantastic before last season's struggles, Boston has itself a legitimate starting power forward to help nudge them toward a second straight playoff berth. Or, equally golden, the benefit of dangling a contract this rich could net the Celtics more desirable future assets at the trade deadline.
Either way, Boston’s decision to target Johnson, then sign him to a two-year deal, was very smart.
Two years ago, Johnson was a pearl. Grantland’s Zach Lowe referred to him as "one of the league’s underrated players," and suitable rim protection was a big reason why. Opposing field-goal percentages with him as the closest defender to the basket were comparable to Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah's numbers, per NBA.com/Stats. Last season, with ankle, toe and shoulder issues, he wasn’t as scary, but Toronto’s defense still performed a bit better with Johnson on the court than off it.
Health issues aside, dig a bit deeper into Toronto’s lineup data from last year and one very interesting revelation emerges. Johnson was dramatically better when he didn’t share the floor with Jonas Valanciunas, the team’s gradually developing franchise center.
Johnson’s overall field-goal percentage jumped from 53.1 percent to 62.7 percent, and his accuracy in the restricted area climbed 12.5 percent (on the same number of attempts per game) when Johnson played without Toronto’s starting 7-footer, according to NBA.com.
The Raptors shredded opponents with Johnson at the 5. Lineups featuring him and Valanciunas were outscored by 1.1 points per 100 possessions, but when Johnson ran beside Patrick Patterson, James Johnson or any other forward who wasn’t born in Lithuania, Toronto outscored opponents by 8.0 points per 100 possessions, featuring an attack that would’ve led the entire league in offensive rating.
Here’s one small example of why that duo had trouble scoring the ball:
Johnson flashes to the elbow as Valanciunas comes to set a high screen for Kyle Lowry. Toronto is shorting the pick-and-roll, meaning Johnson’s primary read, I believe, is eventually a pass to the rolling Valanciunas. But Washington big man Nene gets caught out of position and Marcin Gortat sags near the foul line, so Johnson opts to attack the basket. Gortat is in help position because he didn’t bother to stay with Valanciunas on the screen, and the play gets blown up from there.
It’s all an extreme hypothetical, but swap Jonas Jerebko or Kelly Olynyk in for Valanciunas on this play. Gortat can’t drift that far on the high screen because he needs to respect their outside shot. The floor is spread. Boston doesn’t have topnotch outside shooting, but they also won’t stick Johnson beside a big who can’t space the floor.
Despite playing a bulk of his minutes beside Valanciunas (who, by the way, is not a scapegoat for all of Johnson’s poor play) last season, he was one of the league’s most efficient roll men, averaging as many points per possession as New Orleans' Anthony Davis.
Johnson is fantastic at setting screens, clearing space for the ball-handler and then either popping out for an open jumper or gliding toward the rim. He could make life so much easier for Boston’s cubby of ball-handlers, particularly Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart.
Here’s an example of what Johnson can do as a screen-setting maniac in smaller units. Patterson clears Chicago's Taj Gibson out by streaming across the paint, and from there it’s a simple high pick-and-roll. Johnson flattens Kirk Hinrich, letting Lowry zoom downhill toward the paint. It’s basically a two-on-one situation, with poor Pau Gasol as the lone defender. Guess what happens:
No successful NBA team can run its offense through Johnson. He’s the ideal complementary piece, fully capable of using his length and touch to convert opportunities around the basket that are created by speedy playmakers (of which the Celtics have pah-lenty).
Throw in his ebullient off-court personality—Johnson is beloved by teammates in Toronto, per this fantastic column by SB Nation’s Paul Flannery—and it quickly becomes clear that Boston may have landed a real gem.
Here’s what Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan had to say about his former teammate over a year ago:
"Amir, man, he plays extremely hard. Amir's played through injuries. The only thing Amir cares about is being there for his teammates. That's it. Nothing else. He doesn't care about how many baskets he scores. He just cares about being there for his team and whatever he can do out there on that court he's willing to do. It's rare to find a teammate like that.
"
Johnson is a 6’9”, 240-pound vein implanted to pump blood in the Celtics’ impressionable core. He isn’t the star who’s necessary for them to raise an 18th banner, but let’s all be patient. Building a team from the ground up takes time, and few role players signal a more focused step in the right direction than Johnson.
Here’s a free-agent signing who's in his prime, very good at basketball and about to start a contract that doesn't restrict any of Boston's hard-earned financial flexibility. Their path to a title is still unknown, but Amir Johnson can point the Celtics toward a few new doors.
All statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
Michael Pina is an NBA writer who lives in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelVPina.
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