Joe Johnson Shows He Belongs in Nba Again
It had been xx years since Joe Johnson walked into this arena, known back then asthe FleetCenter, as a 20-year-quondam rookie out of Arkansas.
Forty-eight games into his rookie flavour with the Celtics, Johnson was traded in February to Phoenix for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. It was a merchandise the Celtics would regret, equally Johnson went on to earn vii All-Star appearances and become ane of the purest scorers of his generation.
The Celtics' signing of a 40-year-old Johnson doesn't brand up for their past mistakes, but it does allow Johnson to perhaps cease his NBA career in a more than glorious fashion. The former Big3 MVP, who had been clamoring to get back to the NBA, is the latest ex-NBA player to return to the league after teams affected past the COVID-nineteen protocol were allowed to sign players to ten-day contracts.
Johnson said he was in Atlanta Tuesday, eating dinner with his daughter, when his agent called and asked if he could make a flight to Boston in a few hours.
"When my amanuensis called me and told me this was on the tabular array, it was a no-brainer for me," he said. "I'm a guy who really takes care of his body. I felt like I was set up to accept on that claiming. [My amanuensis] asked me what I thought and we just kept moving and I'yard ready for whatever comes my style."
Johnson blossomed during his Phoenix years but emerged as an aristocracy shooting baby-sit during his seven years in Atlanta. He has xx,405 career points and is 14th all-time with 1,978 three-pointers. He earned the moniker "Iso Joe" because of his power to score in isolation situations.
He then played with the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Estrus, Utah Jazz and then a 23-game stint with the Houston Rockets in 2017-18.
Since then, Johnson has made attempts to stick onto NBA rosters. And he played three season in the Big3 iii-on-3 league, winning an MVP honour. He was invited to the Detroit Pistons camp prior to the 2019-xx season, but was waived as the club opted for younger players.
Coming back to Boston, and the NBA, was something Johnson said was highly unlikely.
"I wouldn't say give up, but I didn't have high hopes," said Johnson, who made his render to a thunderous ovation when he came off the bench with i:57 remaining and knocked downwardly the Celtics' concluding basket of Midweek night's 111-101 win over the Cavaliers. "My son is 14 and he keeps me in the gym. I ever talk to him near work, fifty-fifty when yous can't run into what's next. I [was] preaching it, only I'1000 doing it at the same time and this opportunity comes up. I'm glad I got the opportunity, I just want to relish the moment."
Johnson'southward brusk-term stay in Boston didn't allow him to create many memories on the parquet.
"I was hither for about six months," he said. "There's nonetheless a lot of familiar faces [in the organization] and I was surprised to see. Information technology'south adept to be in a familiar place."
A caveat of Johnson's presence is his potential impact on Celtics starters Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Johnson turned himself into an aristocracy scorer and at that place are definitely concrete similarities betwixt the three players.
"I will try to help them out as much equally I tin, things I see on the court," he said. "Things that help those guys. I'll exist in their ear a lot."
Johnson said he played with Chocolate-brown in some Atlanta pickup games this by summer and conversed with Tatum on Wednesday morn at the Celtics practice facility.
"It will exist fun homo, I'one thousand going to relish this little time I got," Johnson said of the 10-day contract. "We'll run across what comes from it."
Still missing in action
The Celtics still missed Grant Williams, Al Horford, Sam Hauser, Broderic Thomas, Josh Richardson, Jabari Parker and Juancho Hernangomez considering of COVID-19 protocol and it's unlikely they would be available for the Christmas Day game against the Milwaukee Bucks unless they registered two negative tests . . . Robert Williams, who missed Monday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers because of personal reasons, returned to the lineup against the Cavaliers . . . To add together to a fascinating Wed at TD Garden, former Celtic Tacko Fall was in Cleveland'south starting lineup. Kevin Dear, who had battled articulatio genus soreness, returned to the Cavaliers lineup while Jarrett Allen (COVID-19 protocol) remained out.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Globe staff contributed to this study.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He tin can be reached at gary.washburn@earth.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
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Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/22/sports/celtics-bring-back-2001-first-round-pick-joe-johnson-10-day-deal/
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