Nick Johnson still trying to make his point
Former Arizona guard Nick Johnson has been an intriguing athlete without a clear fit. The Orlando Magic are next to give him a shot as he tries to make it.
Nick Johnson has been in this place before.
His whole basketball career has seemingly been one of promise and uncertainty. Nick Johnson’s athleticism is as good as anyone else in the league. The 6-foot-3 guard can finish high above the rim. He has speed and skill.
Every summer for the past three years, Johnson has shown this time and time again. He shows up with one of the teams, puts up good numbers and that promise. And then . . .
Then the reality sets in.
Nick Johnson is a tweener — the dreaded term no player wants attached to his name. He is tweener because of his height. His position is not clear. He is a tweener because he puts up incredible numbers in the D-League, but cannot get them to translate in his few stints in the NBA.
Johnson always earns a look. His promise deserves some attention. But he has never found a way to stick in the league.
And so it is the Orlando Magic’s turn now to try out Nick Johnson. A third year through Summer League and a third training camp in the NBA — likely on an unguaranteed contract and another trip to the D-League to play for the Erie BayHawks this time.
The Magic announced they signed the 23-year-old guard earlier this week, inviting him to training camp. It is hard to know what to expect from Johnson as he enters this latest go-round with the NBA.
Johnson still has a lot to prove.
“Nothing has ever been given to me in my life,” Johnson said during Summer League. “Always have been, always will be a fighter. I scratch and fight for everything.”
For Johnson that means every year going through the same cycle — Summer League then D-League with brief stints in the NBA in between (28 games with the Houston Rockets in 2015).
Last year, Johnson averaged 10.4 points per game and 3.0 assists per game for the Austin Spurs. He shot a 44.3 percent effective field goal percentage.
It was a year spent recovering from injury. Johnson was certainly slowed down because of it. He averaged 18.2 points per game for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers the year before.
There is clearly something there. How to use it though remains a question.
The Magic had Johnson on their Blue team this past July, primarily playing point guard. Johnson was bringing the ball up and trying to run the team. Orlando Blue struggled to win much that week. Johnson had his own struggles too. But he also produced and showed some promise as he got more comfortable.
Johnson ended up averaging 14.4 points per game and 7.4 assists per game, shooting only 36.9 percent from the floor that week.
That was not what the Magic were looking for from Johnson necessarily. They wanted to see if he could play point guard and run a team and whether that talent was worth taking a closer look at.
The Magic saw a player who worked hard and seemed willing to learn and improve.
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“I don’t know what he’s trying to show except for the fact he is a solid basketball player, whatever position he’s playing,” assistant coach Chad Forcier said during Summer League. “What I love about Nick is he really does play defense and he’s a competitive every time.”
Johnson certainly had that competitiveness. He has had to in his young career. Without a true NBA home, Johnson has had to adapt.
And the Magic remain intrigued. Intrigued enough to invite him back off the Summer League team to training camp.
The question remains how and where he fits. And if the Magic are ultimately that fit.
Johnson played mostly off the ball with Arizona in college. Learning how to play point guard at the professional level is ongoing for him. He has had to spend much of the last two years trying to prove he can make that transition.
“It’s been my goal for the last year or so to show I can play that more consistently,” Johnson said at Summer League. “Everyone knows I am an athlete. I’m just trying to run the team a little bit.”
That is often the problem with super athletes like Johnson. They do not always have a clear fit and have to refine their athleticism to fit a NBA skill. Aaron Gordon is similar, but with his size, it is easier to fill him into a role. Johnson does not fit that mold.
And so the league seems prepared to mold him into a point guard.
For Nick Johnson, opportunities and intrigue have to be running out. Orlando has a pretty crowded group of point guards with D.J. Augustin and C.J. Watson backing up Elfrid Payton. It likely means Johnson will get cut and spend the year in Erie — or elsewhere.
The Magic will be the next team to take that chance on this athletic guard and see what he can do as Johnson tries to make a mark.