Free Agent: DerMarr Johnson

[spurjur]

DerMarr Johnson is a young small forward who can be molded under Bruce Bowen. He is available and just wanted to see what you guys thought.

[Marcus Bryant]

Restricted free agent and Denver has his Early Bird rights, if I remember correctly.

[TheTruth]

Nuggets just picked up the option on Leonard and need to sign buckner. I could see them letting Johnson go, but probably not to the spurs.

[spurjur]

As far as I know he is unrestricted and played for the minimum last season. Sounds like a good pickup to me.

[Kori Ellis]

You are correct. He's unrestricted.

[Marcus Bryant]

Yeah, he's unrestricted and Denver doesn't have his Early Bird rights. Hmmm...what is Denver doing with their MLE?

[spurjur]

Word is that they are trying to sign a shooting guard. They may not resign him.

[FromWayDowntown]

Johnson is at least mildly intriguing. He almost had it all taken away from him, so you'd think that his primadonna days are over and that he's just in the business of appreciating the opportunity to play. He has great length on the wing and seems willing to play at least some defense. Perhaps he's an answer.

remember: headbands = championships.

[Duff McCartney]

I'm telling you Linton Johnson is the future for the Spurs at SF. He's great.

[spurjur]

The reason I believe he is a good fit is that he reminds me of Stephen Jackson somewhat. Not because of the headband though. He is long and was a high school standout. He came into the league too soon and that may have hurt his career thus far, but I think there is a lot of potential there. He has great length.

[Kori Ellis]

I know the Spurs have looked at him in the past, so maybe they are looking again.

[FromWayDowntown]

6'9". 25 years old. Just turned 25. Hit almost 50% of his shots last season.

hmmmm. I'm intrigued.

[spurjur]

The guy was a 6th overall pick so there has to be something to him. When Michael Cooper was the coach of the Nuggets he really liked DerMarr. Coop had the intention of making him a defensive guy because of DerMarr's wing span.

[Marcus Bryant]

Hopefully Denver ends up using their full MLE (or most of it) on a 2.

Spurs will have up to $2.735 mil starting to offer and an opportunity to eventually move into the starting lineup.

[spurjur]

I think that the Nuggest really want to get either Marko Jaric or Flip Murray. They also seem to want to resign Buckner who is also a good defender.

[Dex]

...what about Devin Brown?

[spurjur]

Devin Brown seems like he may get an offer from some other team that may cause the Spurs to pass. Plus he is more of a 2 than a 3. I think the Spurs need to look into getting someone to back Bowen up.

[Kori Ellis]

Even if Devin stays, I think the Spurs will look to get another 3 -- at the very least someone to ride IR and learn the ropes.

[spurjur]

I think DerMarr Johnson would be a great guy to fill the void that GRob leaves if he isn't re-signed. I am not saying that DJ is better than GRob, but he is younger and more athletic. The guy put on like 10-15lbs of muscle after his rookie season to show he wanted to improve. That's hard to do.

[Marcus Bryant]

Oh, if Johnson panned out it would be huge for the Spurs, since the only way he would join them is for a relatively small contract ($2.7 mil starting or below).

[bigbendbruisebrother]

Even if Devin stays, I think the Spurs will look to get another 3 -- at the very least someone to ride IR and learn the ropes.

Which is prudent because so far Devin has not fully recovered from his back injury. I'd hate to see the Spurs enter next season with an injured guard as their only dedicated backup to their 34 year old small forward.

[bigbendbruisebrother]

From basketball-reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsde03.html)

DerMarr Johnson
Most Similar Season at Age
20. Aleksandar Pavlovic
21. Jonathan Bender
24. Buck Johnson

[FromWayDowntown]

What's hard to peg with Johnson is the effect of his neck injury from a few years back. Last year was pretty much his first full season back. I recall reading that folks in Denver really thought the Nuggets rise coincided with Johnson getting more and more minutes during the season, though it's very hard to separate whatever effect Johnson might have had from the effect that Karl had.

Of course, then in the playoffs, Karl started him for two games before benching him and seeming to forget all about him in Game 5.

[spurjur]

I just see this guy like a Stephen Jackson. The more S. Jack played the better he got. Now look at him. I am not saying that the exact same thing will happen to DJ, but there is the possibility. Remember that S. Jack was considered a very good player in high school, but got into trouble. He paid his dues and now he is one ofthe leading scorers on his team with a championship ring. DerMarr Johnson looks like he would excel under Pop and PJ Carlisimo.

[Marcus Bryant]

The thing with Jack is that he had an asshole coach in NJ. The Spurs seemed to have the right way of coaching him. He wasn't given anything but an opportunity to play. But they didn't simply scold him 24/7.

In Indiana, he didn't have that. Unfortunately I think he fell in with Artest and the Pacers didn't really try to reign in Artest. They (and Jack) paid the price for that.

[timvp]

DerMarr is another guy who could fill the long three role. He had a good season last year ... and even played well in the playoffs.

Denver doesn't seem like re-signing him is a priority. Perhaps an Oberto-like deal would be enough to steal him.

He'd be a good addition.

[T Park]

Demarr Johnson would be fantastic.

Add a touch of bulk, and youve got a better than a Bruce Bowen clone for 10 years.

[FromWayDowntown]

Demarr Johnson would be fantastic.

Add a touch of bulk, and youve got a better than a Bruce Bowen clone for 10 years.

When DJ signs elsewhere, he'll be about the most useless player in the history of basketball, right TPark?

:blah

[CannotArrestManu]

Just say no to Johnson!

I live in Denver (old-spurs fan, born and raised in SA), and there have been some disturbing reports about him. I saw a lot of nuggets games this year because I don't have league pass so I can't see the spurs.

First of all, DJ doesn't understand the team concept at all. He looks for his shot almost without pause, and usually becomes a black-hole on offense. Some people can score at will, but DerMarr can shoot at will. He started most of the games after George Karl arrived, because Karl liked his length and potential as a defender. However, DJ didn't last longer than the first quarter. Sometimes he'd explode for ten quick points, but that really took Carmelo and others out of the game. DJ never finished a game unless it was a blowout or the Nuggets were getting beaten badly.

When his shot isn't falling, he doesn't do anything else. He's probably the worst 6-9 rebounder in the NBA. God know's he's only 200 pounds but he would always opt to get out on the break instead of staying and fighting for a rebound. DJ is really quite timid. I think it might have something to do with the car accident. He always shys away from contact.

Potential as a defender? I really don't see it. Yes, he's extremely long, but he doesn't move his feet at all. People get by him easily, and he tends to slap at the ball. Michael Cooper tried to take him under his wing for a little while, but soon gave up. And that brings me to the biggest problem regarding Johnson. He really has a big ego and attitude problems. During one of cooper's last games in Denver in late January, Cooper and DJ got into a very heated argument. Johnson was slacking off on defense, so Cooper pulled him out of the game and had him take a seat next to him. No one knows what was said, but Johnson quickly stood up and walked to the end of the bench without coop's approval, prompting the coach to follow with an angry look on his face, and an even more heated exchange insued. DJ never again got off the bench while Cooper was the head coach. These same problems surfaced in the playoffs with Karl. That's why he was benched after game two. After the series vs Denver, reporters asked Karl if he pulled the trigger in benching johnson too quickly. Karl responded by saying that Johnson's defense had been atrocious for the past two months, and that he should of made the move earlier. It's no suprise to me that he didn't get in game 5.

There were also reports that Johnson got into verbal fights with Greg Bucker and Earl Boykins. These are the reason's why Denver would really care less if Johnson ended up somewhere else. He was great friends with Melo, but the Nuggets want to keep him as far away from their future star as they can. They have made resigning Buckner a top priority because he plays within the team, shoots the 3 decently, and actually tries on defense.

Now I know we've done a great job at controlling some of the NBA's most crazy wildchilds, like S. Jackson, but I think Johnson is an entirely different kind of problem. If we wanted to find our future defensive-oriented SF, I think we should take a look at Buckner. I was impressed with his defense and heart. He played injured several times through the Nugget's season. His longball is decent, and he doesn't have any baggage. He always keeps the ball moving, and loves to set up his teammates. I don't know why we'd try to sign a me-first scorer when we already have three great selfless scorers. Why should we screw this up? Buckner is more like Bowen than Johnson.

Anyways, just thought I'd share what I know/heard. I plan on spending a lot of time on this board in the future.

Go SPURS GO!

[exstatic]

From what I see, he needs to work on a couple of things.

1) Overall shot selection. His FG% is poor.
2) Passing/handles. No NBA guard/wing should have a career asst/TO ratio of <1.00

He's athletic as hell, and shoots a pretty damn good 3ball.

[timvp]

Just say no to Johnson!

I live in Denver (old-spurs fan, born and raised in SA), and there have been some disturbing reports about him. I saw a lot of nuggets games this year because I don't have league pass so I can't see the spurs.

First of all, DJ doesn't understand the team concept at all. He looks for his shot almost without pause, and usually becomes a black-hole on offense. Some people can score at will, but DerMarr can shoot at will. He started most of the games after George Karl arrived, because Karl liked his length and potential as a defender. However, DJ didn't last longer than the first quarter. Sometimes he'd explode for ten quick points, but that really took Carmelo and others out of the game. DJ never finished a game unless it was a blowout or the Nuggets were getting beaten badly.

When his shot isn't falling, he doesn't do anything else. He's probably the worst 6-9 rebounder in the NBA. God know's he's only 200 pounds but he would always opt to get out on the break instead of staying and fighting for a rebound. DJ is really quite timid. I think it might have something to do with the car accident. He always shys away from contact.

Potential as a defender? I really don't see it. Yes, he's extremely long, but he doesn't move his feet at all. People get by him easily, and he tends to slap at the ball. Michael Cooper tried to take him under his wing for a little while, but soon gave up. And that brings me to the biggest problem regarding Johnson. He really has a big ego and attitude problems. During one of cooper's last games in Denver in late January, Cooper and DJ got into a very heated argument. Johnson was slacking off on defense, so Cooper pulled him out of the game and had him take a seat next to him. No one knows what was said, but Johnson quickly stood up and walked to the end of the bench without coop's approval, prompting the coach to follow with an angry look on his face, and an even more heated exchange insued. DJ never again got off the bench while Cooper was the head coach. These same problems surfaced in the playoffs with Karl. That's why he was benched after game two. After the series vs Denver, reporters asked Karl if he pulled the trigger in benching johnson too quickly. Karl responded by saying that Johnson's defense had been atrocious for the past two months, and that he should of made the move earlier. It's no suprise to me that he didn't get in game 5.

There were also reports that Johnson got into verbal fights with Greg Bucker and Earl Boykins. These are the reason's why Denver would really care less if Johnson ended up somewhere else. He was great friends with Melo, but the Nuggets want to keep him as far away from their future star as they can. They have made resigning Buckner a top priority because he plays within the team, shoots the 3 decently, and actually tries on defense.

Now I know we've done a great job at controlling some of the NBA's most crazy wildchilds, like S. Jackson, but I think Johnson is an entirely different kind of problem. If we wanted to find our future defensive-oriented SF, I think we should take a look at Buckner. I was impressed with his defense and heart. He played injured several times through the Nugget's season. His longball is decent, and he doesn't have any baggage. He always keeps the ball moving, and loves to set up his teammates. I don't know why we'd try to sign a me-first scorer when we already have three great selfless scorers. Why should we screw this up? Buckner is more like Bowen than Johnson.

Anyways, just thought I'd share what I know/heard. I plan on spending a lot of time on this board in the future.

Go SPURS GO!

Good post. Welcome.

I was wondering why the Nuggets don't seem like they care if he leaves.

[wildbill2u]

Another great physical talent with attitude problems and no defense? Scratch Johnson from the list

[dunkman]

He plays no defense, at all. I dont see how can he replace Bruce.

[BruceBowenFan]

yea