James Johnson on time with Miami Heat: ‘It was exactly what I needed to resurrect’ career
It has only been three weeks since the Miami Heat traded forward James Johnson, but Johnson is back in Miami.
For one game, as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“It’s nice,” Johnson said of returning to Miami for Wednesday’s matchup between the Timberwolves and Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. “Got to see my sons. A little time at the beach. It’s good.”
Johnson, who turned 33 last week, was part of the trade package the Heat sent to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 6 to acquire Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Andre Iguodala. Guard Dion Waiters and forward Justise Winslow were the other two players the Heat dealt to the Grizzlies to complete the trade, and Memphis then rerouted Johnson to Minnesota for center Gorgui Dieng.
Of the three players moved by the Heat earlier this month, Johnson is the only one who has played since the transaction was made. Winslow has yet to play for the Grizzlies because of his back injury, and Waiters was released by the Grizzlies.
“Great,” Johnson said of his three-plus seasons with the Heat. “It was exactly what I needed to resurrect. I thank Pat [Riley] all the time. I thank [Erik Spoelstra] all the time. It was exactly what I needed to further my career and extend my purpose.”
Johnson entered Wednesday’s game in Miami averaging 11.5 points on 45.1 percent shooting, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks in his first six games with the Timberwolves. Not only is Johnson producing, but he has found a consistent role as he has played in every game since he was traded to Minnesota.
That was something Johnson didn’t have with the Heat. He played in just 18 of the 50 games he spent with Miami this season after a turbulent start to the season in which Johnson was sent from the team for the first 10 days of training camp and the preseason because he didn’t meet the Heat’s conditioning requirements.
“You know, you put yourself in a predicament and you live with the consequences,” Johnson said Wednesday when asked if he felt like he faced an uphill battle with the Heat after his rocky start to the season. “There’s no uphill battle on my end. I was going to work and I was going to work hard regardless the outcome of my playing time. But with the team rolling, they were rolling and that you could be happy for and you don’t mind sitting on the bench. If you genuinely care for someone like how I do the Miami Heat guys, you want great success for them.”
It’s that type of approach that has impressed Johnson’s new coach, Ryan Saunders.
“He has been great,” Saunders said of Johnson. “The conversations that we’ve been able to have are ones that I really value because he has seen a lot of different ways of doing things. He has seen a lot of different experiences in the NBA. He has a really interesting viewpoint on a lot of things and he’s just an interesting person that I’ve enjoyed my time with, and I know our players have, too.”
Johnson’s time with the Heat is over, but he looks back at it positively. He put together the best season of his NBA career in his first year with Miami in 2016-17 and used that momentum to sign a four-year, $60 million contract with the Heat in the summer of 2017.
Johnson averaged 10.3 points on 47.6 percent shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his three-plus seasons in Miami.
Will Wednesday’s return be emotional for Johnson?
“I don’t have emotions,” Johnson said.
J.J. ON BUTLER
As for spending part of the season as Jimmy Butler’s teammate with the Heat, Johnson had nothing but good things to say about Butler.
“I loved him,” Johnson said. “I love his work ethic. I love what he stands for. Sometimes, he can be misconstrued. But me personally, one of the best teammates I ever had.
“He’s not for everybody. But I think what made him a great teammate for this situation, this organization and to me is he came into something that he felt was like him. Just like myself, I learned different things on my way to get to Minnesota that I don’t think that I would be able to help Minnesota with if I didn’t go through. But like I said, Jimmy when he got here was totally different than anything I’ve ever read on him.”
▪ According to Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports, Waiters will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Waiters is still looking for a new team after he was released by the Grizzlies earlier this month.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 12:20 PM.
