Johnson - the perfect BBD replacement

[Spilling Green Dye]

If you had asked me what kind of player I hoped the Celtics would replace Davis with, I'd say he should have the following qualities:

-Tall w/ good length
-Good mid-range shooter who can pick & pop
-Plays good defense & can block shots
-Runs the floor well
-Dedicated to conditioning
-Mature

Johnson is, according to scouting reports, all of the things listed above.  He is 6'10" and shoots 81% from the FT line, is known as an active shot blocker who guards the rim well, and has worked to gain 5-10 lbs of muscle since the end of his college career.

Johnson's frame means he won't be used as a Center on the team, and we all know that Davis cannot play backup center.  Therefore, it really makes me happy that we might finally have a quality backup PF in place of Glen Davis.   

[mctyson]

I don't know about perfect.  But the Celtics are suddenly getting very 'long' at a lot of positions.  You could imagine a rotation with rondo/bradley, pierce, JJ, Green, and KG - that's a lot of length and athleticism, even with the old guys.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I don't know about perfect.  But the Celtics are suddenly getting very 'long' at a lot of positions.  You could imagine a rotation with rondo/bradley, pierce, JJ, Green, and KG - that's a lot of length and athleticism, even with the old guys.

I love it.  I grew sick of seeing undersized players constantly (Gomes, Powe, Davis, etc) even if I liked some of them personally. 

The fact that Johnson is described as an "above the rim player" in his profile is a breath of fresh air for me.  He won't be getting blocked often.. instead, he'll do the blocking.

[the_Bird]

Of all the players available late in the 1st, seems like he was the most likely to come in and positively impact the team next year.  There are minutes to be had behind KG.  He's a four-year college player who's gotten better each season.  He's been getting bigger, they said he put on 10-15# last season and looks like he's beefed up a little since season-end.  He's athletic.   He can get up and down the court.  He's got a mid-range game.  Good shotblocker, willing defender.  Seems like he's got a good motor.

Love this pick.  Kudos to Danny!

[Edgar]

I love the pick, think he can fit a team in 2 or 3 years
but I will not give him  BBD minutes( who I want out bad)... to a rookie, no way
those are like 30 mpg in danys sistem
to give those to JJ is suicide

No way

JJto NBDL
pick a real player as KG backup
enough of fairy tales provoked because of extra draft day pumping

[LooseCannon]

I love it.  I grew sick of seeing undersized players constantly (Gomes, Powe, Davis, etc) even if I liked some of them personally. 

We will still see undersized players, just in a different dimension.  Instead of guys who are short, I hope we are going to see Ainge go after more athletic, lengthier players who might lack bulk when he can't go after players with a more ideal body type instead of short over-achievers.

[the_Bird]

Well, they still need another veteran PF, Baby ain't coming back.  But, they're going to NEED to spend the MLE on a center, so if we only have the LLE or veteran minimum contracts to give out, that's going to pretty severely curtail who we're able to pick up.  

Johnson seems like the kind of athletic kid they'd like to put out there in the second unit.  If he can defend, they'll give him a chance to earn some minutes.  But yeah, they need another couple bigs, maybe one of them a Kurt Thomas-type veteran who can play both the 4 and the 5.

[blake]

exactly my thoughts.  As soon as he was drafted, I said "bye bye big baby".

[Edgar]

exactly my thoughts.  As soon as he was drafted, I said "bye bye big baby".

or the better excuse at least
for not resigning and go after a real player

[Spilling Green Dye]

To clarify, I don't want J. Johnson getting 30mpg like Davis did.  Davis did not warrant those minutes in the first place.

The only way to avoid this is to get additional bigs, but Davis' game would be redundant & probably inferior to Johnson's so its time to look elsewhere. 

I'm still holding out hope that a decent center will come here.

[paulcowens]

I think it's a good pick, but the scapegoating of Davis is just getting uglier every day.  Davis has been a very useful big for us.   We should try to keep him.  That's just obvious.  If we can trade him for a better Big, fine, but if he's as crappy as you all keep saying he is, then WHY WOULD ANY OTHER TEAM GIVE US ANYTHING FOR HIM?  You know the answer.  Davis is a useful player.  Without him we would pretty much have had no bench last year.  He's versatile, he doesn't do anything well, but he does a lot of things, and when he plays with energy, he's a really good guy to have on your bench.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I think it's a good pick, but the scapegoating of Davis is just getting uglier every day.  Davis has been a very useful big for us.   We should try to keep him.  That's just obvious.  If we can trade him for a better Big, fine, but if he's as crappy as you all keep saying he is, then WHY WOULD ANY OTHER TEAM GIVE US ANYTHING FOR HIM?  You know the answer.  Davis is a useful player.  Without him we would pretty much have had no bench last year.  He's versatile, he doesn't do anything well, but he does a lot of things, and when he plays with energy, he's a really good guy to have on your bench.

How am I scapegoating him?  I've said all along he gets too many minutes and isn't as productive as some people think.  This pick gives us a player that can replace many of the things BBD did, is cheaper, and even adds some much needed length & shot blocking.

With J. Johnson we'll still need more bigs, but primarily CENTERS.  Davis is not a center.  This isn't scapegoating.  For those who wanted a replacement to Davis on this team I think Johnson is an excellent start.

[RyNye]

JJto NBDL
pick a real player as KG backup
enough of fairy tales provoked because of extra draft day pumping

Why would we do this, unless in some miraculous off-chance we get a good big man in free agency? The truth is we need bodies at the 4/5. I think JJ will be a stronger asset with a training camp and then bench minutes than languishing in the D-league while KG struggles to play 30 minutes a game.

[jpd985]

JJto NBDL
pick a real player as KG backup
enough of fairy tales provoked because of extra draft day pumping

Why would we do this, unless in some miraculous off-chance we get a good big man in free agency? The truth is we need bodies at the 4/5. I think JJ will be a stronger asset with a training camp and then bench minutes than languishing in the D-league while KG struggles to play 30 minutes a game.

I hope a new CBA can get worked out so there is a training camp.

[Coach]

But, they're going to NEED to spend the MLE on a center, so if we only have the LLE or veteran minimum contracts to give out,   

You are assuming that there will still be a MLE and LLE to give out in the new CBA.....