Miami Heat's $50 Million Investment in Tyler Johnson Already Paying Off
MIAMI — It's hard to call Tyler Johnson's gap-toothed grin a $50 million smile. But then again, nothing about the 6'4" combo guard screams $50 million NBA star.
His inner circle has followed him since his Fresno State days and hasn't expanded over a two-year ascension from undrafted unknown to Miami Heat building block. There's a quiet confidence to his demeanor, but it's juxtaposed against the humility of a long-shot hoop dreamer who actually made it.
Even his play style seems disconnected from his salary. He hits the hardwood like he's still fighting for a roster spot, flinging his body after loose balls and flying to the offensive glass.
Which brings us to that lower incisor lost in a summer-league collision and never replaced. He clearly has the means to get it fixed but lacks the motivation to do so.
Play like he does, and there's no guarantee any fix would be a permanent one.
"I'm going to play with the same intensity no matter what, because that's just what I do," Johnson told Bleacher Report. "That's why I haven't bothered getting a tooth yet, because I'm sure eventually it's going to get popped right back out."
That Johnson doesn't play like a typical $50 million perimeter player is a major reason why he's become one.
Sure, there were external factors that aided his checkbook. He couldn't have hit the market at a better time, with the league's new media money ballooning payments like never before. ("Some of the numbers certainly are eye-popping," he concedes.) And he can thank the wing-starved Brooklyn Nets for setting his rate at a level they didn't expect Miami to match.
"You just want him on the court," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You put him on the court, and he knows how to have an impact. He makes a lot of plays to help you win."
Johnson is being asked to make more of those plays than ever. His 18.0 usage percentage is a career high, as are his 30.1 minutes, 13.0 points and 9.9 field-goal attempts per game.
But the added volume hasn't harmed his efficiency. In fact, he's used this brighter spotlight to take his biggest step forward. The numbers that previously painted him as wildly overpaid—7.4 points per game, 13.0 player efficiency rating over his first two seasons—have been replaced by statistics that are making him look economical in the current NBA landscape.
"If you look at his past, every year he gets better and better," Goran Dragic said. "He's working hard, and he's always open to learning new things."
The critics of Johnson's contract—a deafening group over the offseason—are growing quieter by the day.
Last summer, 27 NBA players signed pacts worth at least $50 million. As of Nov. 12, Johnson ranked 15th in scoring, eighth in true shooting percentage and 10th in PER among those players. The only ones he trailed in all three categories were Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and Dwight Howard, a trio with 17 All-Star selections between them.
And at 24 years old until May, Johnson is younger than all but six and no more than a year-and-change older than any of them.
He's making himself worth every penny, though validating his earnings is the least of his concerns.
"What I've had to understand—and what [Dwyane] Wade actually told me—is at the end of the day, it don't matter what you signed for," Johnson said. "Basketball is still basketball. All the pressure that comes with signing for what I signed for is stuff you make up in your head."
Johnson has a barricade around him to block that pressure.
"I only surround myself with people that were there with me going through this whole journey," Johnson said. "They do a great job of keeping me grounded. I have my girl and my son, my mother, all my siblings. They constantly treat me the same way, so I don't feel any different for signing for what we signed for."
That comfort seeps through the stat sheet. It's hard to press as a perimeter player and still shoot 47.2 percent from the field and 43.5 percent outside. His career-best 6.4 turnover percentage—sixth-lowest of the 87 guards clearing 200 minutes—highlights the ease with which he's handling the offense and masks the fact he's still a point guard-in-training.
He might need to climb higher once his back-loaded deal produces $19 million-plus salaries over its third and fourth seasons, but given his trajectory, that gamble may prove a savvy investment.
"He's very dedicated to getting better," Spoelstra said. "He wasn't caught up in any kind of storyline about whether he needed to start, whether he needed to average a certain amount of points, anything to answer anybody else outside this building.
"That's why we like Tyler so much. He's just a winner."
Heat Insider's Notebook
The Frontcourt Shuffle
Few Heat frontcourt players can make permanent plans at the moment. Hassan Whiteside will play as often as his foul and effort levels allow. Justise Winslow can prepare for regular action at the 4 to maximize his athletic advantages and put this guard-heavy roster in its best light.
But that's where the certainties stop. A mere nine games into the season, Spoelstra has already set, shuffled and reprogrammed his front line. There have been small-ball looks, jumbo packages and everything in between. The stocks of the frontcourt "others" have shown incredible fluctuation for having not even reached the 10-game mark.
There's no guarantee which swings will stick, but the rise of Derrick Williams and Josh McRoberts feels significant.
Luke Babbitt and Willie Reed were regulars for the first seven games, and Spoelstra stressed a desire to keep his rotation "as consistent as possible to build continuity." That Spo is willing to tweak as his team searches for offense could mean Plan B gets a longer look.
"We clearly have to work through some things," McRoberts said. "Every team is different. And we're still adjusting, coming together."
James Johnson should be an every-night player, but his minutes will hinge on whether he plays within his lane. McRoberts and Reed will split backup center duties based on matchups—with Udonis Haslem chipping in here and there. And with Babbitt's having shot his way off the floor (21.4 percent outside his last four games), Williams should get a semi-long leash to provide an offensive spark.
Wade's Watch Party
As dramatic as Dwyane Wade's free-agency departure was, it wasn't the cleanest break.
Before the future Hall of Famer suited up for his first NBA season outside Miami, he refused to rule out a return down the line. "Anything is possible," Wade told Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated.
Even now, as Wade holds a prominent position on the Chicago Bulls' wing, his former franchise is rarely out of sight or mind. Before his Bulls scratched out a 98-95 win over the Heat during his return last Thursday, he spoke of the adoration he carries for his former running mates:
"I want to see how Tyler does. I want to see how Justise is growing. I want to see Hassan be Hassan—be a beast on the floor. I want to see him shut everybody up that doesn't think that he's going to play the way he played because he got paid. I want to see UD [Udonis Haslem] get in and be old-reliable UD. I root for those guys. I'm not a hateful individual. I root for their success.
"
Wade's return was a lovefest all around. Arena workers cheered his entrance. Public address announcer Michael Baiamonte introduced Wade like he'd never left. Even Heat president Pat Riley joined the party and finally sent Wade the NBA's most anticipated email.
The bonds remain deep, as they should after such a successful run together. There's an element of "Heat Lifer" that may always ring true for Wade, regardless of where he plays.
But those relationships won't cloud the competition when Wade and the Heat draw each other again Dec. 10.
"I want those guys to succeed...just not when we play each other," he said. "I want those guys to be right behind us in the playoffs."
All quotes obtained firsthand. Statistics accurate as of Nov. 15 and used courtesy of Basketball Reference.com and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the Miami Heat for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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