At 38 years old, Joe Johnson is clearly not the player he once was.
He’s not the same guy that made the All-Star team in seven out of eight seasons from 2006 to 2014. He may not even be the same guy that gave the Utah Jazz a huge boost off their bench during their playoff run in 2017.
But for a team that’s all-in like the Sixers, Iso Joe was worth taking a flyer. Instead, the 17-year NBA veteran signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, per Shams Charania of the Athletic and Stadium.
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We don’t know Johnson’s motivation. Perhaps he wanted to play for head coach Dwane Casey. Maybe he saw a bigger role for himself on a fringe playoff team like the Pistons.
Whatever it was, it’s a shame that Elton Brand and company couldn’t get Johnson in the fray. The deal was only partially guaranteed, meaning Johnson doesn’t have a roster spot locked up in Detroit, let alone a solid role.
The Sixers’ roster is crowded. Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson are the starting wings and James Ennis will likely be the team’s sixth or seventh man. That leaves 2019 first-round pick Matisse Thybulle, 2018 first-round pick Zhaire Smith and 2016 first-round pick Furkan Korkmaz in a battle for minutes.
The Sixers are definitely bullish on Thybulle and Smith – as they should be. Brand and company thought enough of Korkmaz to give him another shot this season. But they’re all young. Thybulle is actually the oldest (22 years, 192 days) while Korkmaz (22 years, 50 days) has the most NBA experience. Smith is the youngest (20 years, 100 days) but could have the most potential.
NBA
All of this to say, if the Sixers are all-in as Brand has proclaimed them to be, a player like Johnson as an insurance policy makes sense. Brand went into the 2019 draft with four second-round picks. He made just one selection (Marial Shayok, who signed a two-way deal), using one to trade up for Thybulle and selling off the other two.
Brand was also clearly interested in bringing his former teammate Kyle Korver back to Philadelphia. Reports were that Korver narrowed his choices down to the Sixers and the Bucks. Korver chose Milwaukee to reunite with his former coach Mike Budenholzer. When Brand missed out on the veteran sharpshooter, he turned his attention to re-signing Korkmaz.
But wouldn’t Johnson have made more sense as a player to bring something similar to Korver? Sure, Johnson isn’t the shooter Korver is, but he’s had strong seasons from behind the arc. Before his disastrous 2017-18 season, Johnson had shot 39.6 percent on 3.6 threes a game the last two seasons. Unlike Korver, Johnson also possesses the ability to create his own shot – something Korver does not.
Would Johnson have been the difference in hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy. Almost definitely not. But he wouldn’t have been a bad option to have around.
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