Ex NBA-guard Joe Johnson is drawing interest from numerous teams in the league, but the New Orleans Pelicans could be the best spot for him
Joe Johnson hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2017-18 campaign where he split time playing for the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, but the 38-year-old is still proving he’s got game.
Johnson was named the Big 3 MVP this summer, a league that’s been started by rapper Ice Cube where ex-NBA and international players compete in a 12-team league. He set a league record, scoring 175 points across just eight contests. As a result of his impressive showing, “Iso Joe” has attracted the interest from several NBA organizations, such as the Pelicans, 76ers, Clippers, Bucks, and Nuggets.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Pels saw Johnson play last week in New Orleans and were very impressed:
Add the Pelicans to that list of interest in Joe Johnson, a source said. Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry and VP David Griffin watched Joe Johnson play in the @thebig3 in New Orleans last week. https://t.co/ubMxbwqKfu
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 28, 2019
Adding Johnson to Pels can increase playoff chances
Given his NBA pedigree; an average of 16 points, four rebounds, and 3.9 assists per night across 17 NBA seasons, along with seven All-Star appearances, he seems like the perfect fit for a New Orleans team that is young and talented, but don’t necessarily have a lot of experience on their roster aside from J.J. Reddick, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick Favors.
A lot of people are expecting this team to make a playoff run next year in the west, with number one overall pick Zion Williamson on center stage along with newly acquired youngsters like Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, and Holiday leading the way at guard. they have already added veteran sharpshooter J.J Reddick, but with the addition of a player like Johnson who can clearly still drain buckets at 38 years old, he could become a perfect addition to this team and also offer a lot of leadership and mentoring to the young players because he has played in this league for such a long time.
It’s an exciting time to be a Pelicans fan because this team has a very bright future ahead of them. Joe Johnson’s numbers took a dive over the last few years of his career, but he is still a proven scorer. He can bring a spark to this team off the bench there’s no doubt about it.
If he doesn’t even post great numbers on a nightly basis, his presence as a leader and mentor for guys like Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes will prove to be valuable in itself. It’s always hard for first-year players to adapt to the NBA, so the more wisdom they have around them to help them perform at their highest level, the better.
There is many teams interested in Johnson, so he could likely end up with one of them instead of the Pelicans. But New Orleans could use another experienced player like Johnson, so if they can swing a deal for the free agent, it would be a great move.