One of the all-time Raptors fan favourites could be returning to Toronto, Sporting News reports.
Amir Johnson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been linked to his former club, who could have interest in bringing the power forward back to the franchise that gave him his first real opportunity at being an NBA starter.
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Johnson played for six seasons with the Raptors, establishing himself as a tireless, reliable worker and a leader on the court. By the end of his Toronto tenure, the six-foot-nine big man was the starting four on a Raptors squad he helped return to the post-season for the first time in nearly a decade.
It’s a big part of why Johnson was targeted by the Boston Celtics in free agency two summers ago, where he was expected to continue to crash the boards and run the floor like he did in Toronto. The 30-year-old found success in Boston, starting 153 of the 159 regular season games he played, though he did see his overall minutes (and, subsequently, stats) drop from his Raptors days.
Yet come playoff time this year Johnson had fallen out of the Celtics rotation, benched for four games in their entirety and starting in only nine of Boston’s 18 games over three rounds. He averaged just eight minutes per game in the Eastern Conference finals versus Cleveland.
His relative fall from grace, coupled with the bevy of young big men the Celts have stashed overseas awaiting their NBA debut has led many to believe that there’s virtually no chance Boston re-signs him this summer, opening the door for the Raptors to consider giving him a second look, writes Sporting News‘ Sean Deveny:
[blockquote]…His Boston exit could lead Johnson back to his adopted home in Toronto. Multiple league sources told Sporting News this week that there is mutual interest in getting Johnson back onto the Raptors’ roster this summer.
Johnson will have options when he hits free agency, with a handful of teams having expressed interest, a source said. If the Raptors need too much time to sort out other issues, Johnson would look elsewhere.[/blockquote]
You can understand why Johnson would be interested in returning to the Raps given how well he was received by the fans and what he accomplished on the court. He left Toronto second all-time in franchise history in offensive rebounds, second in blocks, and fifth in total games played.
Johnson’s age and drop-off in production likely mean he will be affordable for a team like Toronto who will have to be financially-savvy this summer given their proximity to the salary cap— whether Kyle Lowry re-signs or not. With another UFA, Patrick Patterson, likely to receive lucrative offers from multiple teams, the Raps could find themselves with a hole to fill at forward and know exactly what to expect from Johnson.
Stay tuned.
