Austin Toros Sign DerMarr Johnson

[timvp]

I can't find a link but this is a very interesting signing. Johnson is a Long Three who has NBA level talent.

He actually makes sense as a Spurs call up if he plays well in Austin.

[Darkwaters]

Wow...I like this a lot. I wouldn't mind letting Johnson and Bowen2 fight it out on the Toros for a callup to the big show.

My only thought is this...what does the DerMarr signing mean for Marcus Williams?

Edit: I hope Johnson isn't just the next James White(!). They're both super athletic wings from Cincinatti...

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Another ex-nugget is going to lead the Spurs to a le

[Darkwaters]

D-League's Toros Sign DerMarr Johnson
November 29, 2007 - 6:46 pm
RealGM Staff Report -
The San Antonio Spurs have assigned rookie guard Darius Washington to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Austin Toros. Johnson is the 13th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate this season.

The Toros also announced the acquisition of guard DerMarr Johnson, a former NBA lottery selection, from the available player pool and waived guard Patrick Fields. Johnson and Washington are expected to be available for Friday night’s game against Sioux Falls.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar...rmarr_johnson/

[timvp]

Age: 27
Position: Small Forward
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 210

Scouting Report

A bit of a head case who has good athletic ability and range on his jumper. Suffered a neck injury earlier in his career that still affects him to this day. However, he has good size for a small forward and at times has been a decent defender.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

so a couple months ago, i had started two different threads about sightings at the resturant. first was dermarr johnson. anyone remember who the second was?































Greg Ostertag. Yup looks like he's next.

[Bruno]

Johnson has signed in Italy this year but he has been waived because he was a huge ball hog.
Let's hope that he will play in Austin with another mentality.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Blame GK for ruining his confidence. Typical Karl

DJ was the Nugget who shut AI down when the teams met before the trade. After the trade it was stated that DJ was regularly guarding AI in practice coz he shut him down

[Bruno]

Some infos about the D-League :
http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/NBD-bLog/

Available Player Pool Filling with Talent

A number of talented players with NBA experience have finally decided to join the D-League as of late. Will Blalock has re-joined the league, after starting this season with Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli League. DerMarr Johnson has also joined the D-League, after starting this season with Benetton Treviso in Italy. John Lucas started his career in the D-League, and has joined the league again after failing to make out of training camp with the Houston Rockets. Other players, including center Kris Lang, have also considered the D-League and may decide to sign a general contract shortly.

Kris Lang in Austin ?

[ChumpDumper]

Wow...I like this a lot. I wouldn't mind letting Johnson and Bowen2 fight it out on the Toros for a callup to the big show.

My only thought is this...what does the DerMarr signing mean for Marcus Williams?

If Eric Dawson is healthy, Tim Bush could be waived and Williams could be picked up. That seems like a likely scenario, as Justin Bowen is playing a lot of minutes at power forward anyway.

Kris Lang in Austin ?

Not a fan of that idea.

[ShoogarBear]

There isn't an "experience limit" to playing in the D-Leeague? I.e., as long as you're a free agent, you can play there no matter how many years you've played in the NBA?

[ChumpDumper]

There isn't an "experience limit" to playing in the D-Leeague? I.e., as long as you're a free agent, you can play there no matter how many years you've played in the NBA?

No limit that I've seen. Randy Livingston played 11 years in the NBA and he's back in Idaho.

[ShoogarBear]

Randy Livingston? Holy crap. That was the original Sebastian Telfair.

[ShoogarBear]

Livingston was the D-League MVP last year??

[exstatic]

DerMarr can shoot and defend, but his rebounding is worse than Bowen's and his at ude is for . Maybe a stint in the DLeague can cure that.

I @him in a game last year. He was in Karl's doghouse (again) and was relegated to garbage minutes in a Spurs win. He hit a couple of meaningless treys and was mean muggin' our bench.

[LEN BIAS 4EVER]

I don't see anything at all to get excited about. I am even surprised they would sign him with his off the court history. Demarr is the perfect example of a player that needed someone close to him to step in and stop him from going pro too early. Yes he went lottery but he wasn't ready and would have had a better career and made more in the long run if he had stayed in school.

[JamStone]

Hard to believe he was the overall #6 pick in an NBA draft. But, that's how really weak that 2000 draft class was. I watched him live in college and while he was pretty impressive athletically and physically for a guard, he did not look like a sure fire NBA player. He had a jumper with range and he was 6-foot-9 for a shooting guard. Did not have any other outstanding skill other than shooting. Dribbling was average, defense was below average, and overall basketball IQ was average. Then again, Marcus Fizer was selected two spots ahead of him. Like I said, that draft class sucked.

[exstatic]

I don't see anything at all to get excited about. I am even surprised they would sign him with his off the court history. Demarr is the perfect example of a player that needed someone close to him to step in and stop him from going pro too early. Yes he went lottery but he wasn't ready and would have had a better career and made more in the long run if he had stayed in school.

He was actually doing pretty well until he broke his neck and was in "the halo" for a year.

[ChumpDumper]

Hey, if we end up with three long SF projects in Austin I've got no complaints.

[JamStone]

He was actually doing pretty well until he broke his neck and was in "the halo" for a year.

I don't remember him ever playing "pretty well" for the Hawks, before or after the injury.

[Budkin]

I remember DerMarr being pretty good when we played te Nuggs in the first round in 2005. Then the next year some people here were talking about potentially signing him as a long 3. Maybe he'll end up a Spur yet.

[Mitch Cumsteen]

Randy Livingston? Holy crap. That was the original Sebastian Telfair.

Yeah.... until he destroyed his knee in college. He was never the same after that.

[Holt's Cat]

He's always been on the list as a possible 3 for the Spurs, but never seemed to be the type the Spurs would target. Interesting.

[Russ]

DerMarr can shoot and defend, but his rebounding is worse than Bowen's and his at ude is for . Maybe a stint in the DLeague can cure that.

Let him learn humility in Austin. (He'd be the first.)

[Darkwaters]

How interesting would it be if the Toros went out and got Viktor Sanikidze as well? Still very much a possibility at this point...

We'd have some pretty awesome compe ion on the wing with Viktor Sanikdize, Marcus Williams, Justin Bowen, Dermarr Johnson and even Keith Langford. Thats 5 potential NBA players all with the capability of playing out on the perimeter.

And that says nothing of Pittsnogle, "Squeaky" Johnson and send-downs Washington and Mahinmi as the Toros other players with potential NBA talent. This looks to be a loaded Austin team.

While talent is not always a good indicator of a winning atmosphere (as with the current Knicks roster) it sure helps. And even if Austin isn't highly compe ive in the D-League this year, it still should be fun to watch the futures of many of these guys develop further.