Even for the money, the Johnson deal makes all kinds of sense

Amir Johnson, $34 million over five years.

Basketball angle: Good deal locking up a young big.

Financial angle: Big whoop.

Seriously, the money’s not at all a problem to me, it’s a big a raise off his $3.66 million deal of a year ago but, talking to people last night for the story, there was some other interest (as widely expected), the Raptors wanted him and went and got him.

It doesn’t impact anything else they may want to do this summer, there’s every possibility he’ll be the team’s starting centre next October and, at 23 years old, they’ve got him locked up for what could be the prime of his career.

The criticism that this could be a bad deal by, say, 2014 is entire guesswork; we have no idea what the economic landscape will look like then so to say it’ll hinder or help the team in three or four seasons is impossible to know.

And, besides, we’re not entirely sure how the contract is structured; maybe it’s not $6.8 million a year, maybe it starts lower and gets bigger or starts bigger and gets lower. Maybe there aren’t full guarantees for each year, those questions will be answered when the deal’s actually finalized in a week or so.

Look, Amir Johnson’s a pretty good young player and for fans who want the Raptors to “blow it up and start with kids” he’s one who fits with DeRozan, Weems, Davis and, to some degree, the relatively grey-haired Jack.

Johnson, who does have a penchant for fouling, which may impact how much he can play, made huge strides last season working hard with assistant coach Alex English on some offensives moves. If he keeps growing like that, I guarantee the money issue will be put entirely out of mind.

The Raptors wanted to get him, he wanted to be here, and the deal got done quickly. There are still several other moves rattling around in the mind of Bryan Colangelo, it’s good that he got this one out of the way quickly.

The money? Sure, it’s a lot of money. But it’s what the market – where Drew Gooden, six years older than Johnson, by the way, gets $32 million – dictates.

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Um, one question: Wasn’t one of the big beefs from some that the Raptors wouldn’t spend what it took to win?

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From the Department Of The Body’s Not Even Cold yet, we have …

Q: Hey Doug. You have been a consistent supporter of Chris Bosh. No one has watched his career as a Raptor closer. Now that Bosh is about to sign elsewhere, is there a feeling of disappointment?

Now I know professionalism would speak against such human emotion but I have to wonder - What are your personal feelings?

Jacklyn M, Charlottetown

A: I’ll be quite up front about this: I like Chris Bosh, I think he’s a good kid, an exceptional basketball player and as a guy who had to interact with us on almost a daily basis, he was tremendous.

We did have to wait him out after almost every game because he had to be fully dressed – right down to the earrings – for each post-game interview because he wanted to look good when he faced the cameras. Good for him, a tad frustrating for us on deadline at times.

But as a guy? He’d have a conversation about stuff away from the game, he answered a lot of hard questions (remember the hullabaloo about the public negotiations about his child support issue? Well, that sure turned out to be nothing but he talked about it) and he answered them all.

So, yes, I guess there’s a sense of disappointment that he won’t be around.

I hope he goes on to have a long and outstanding career.

I remember writing quite some time ago that “you’ll miss him when he’s gone” and I have a feeling I’ll be right.

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Okay, that’s one out of what’s shaping up to be an excellent mailbag, click here for your last shot at getting in it.

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Hey, Black Stars today!

My man C Young (this is a late addition, you have to read this) over in South Africa reports Ghana are without doubt the favourites of the masses and I can just add, “it’s about time.”

I’ve got the hat, Super Son’s got the t-shirt and we’re ready to rock.

Ghana 1, Uruguay 0.

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I’m sure you’ll see an update here later today sometime, probably in the form of a second post or maybe a separate story, but the Under-17 Canada Cadets open the inaugural world championships today over in Germany.

It’s a good young team under coach Roy Rana and represents a lot of the long-term future for the national senior program.

No idea how they might end up doing – this is the first age-group world championships ever – but the most significant thing is that they area there and gaining valuable experience.

The quicker these teens get used to the international game, the better; and what might be just as important is the exposure they’ll get in front of European club team scouts because the greater number of Canadians we have playing in the top Euro leagues, the better.

There’s always a problem with Canadian kids out of college finding places to play because too many of them have been buried on NCAA benches for years and no one gets to see them. With things like this tournament, their names may get out to enough teams that it helps long-term.

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Oh yeah, the Mighty Yankees didn’t do anything yesterday. Figured some of you might like to (not) know that.

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The one thing I think we’re going to find quite fascinating as the next few days and weeks play out is that you might find some teams that have cleared all kinds of cap room with nowhere really smart to spend it.

A lot of people – myself included – didn’t expect Joe Johnson to go back to the Hawks but reports are suggesting a maximum value deal (and talk about over-spending) will keep him there. Rudy Gay is another guy lots of folks expected to move but it looks like he’s going back to Memphis for about $80 million.

Those are two of the “other” free agents that I think were fallback positions for the teams with mega-cap room like New York, New Jersey and Miami.

And if any of those teams don’t get the biggest names out there – and there was no movement other than meetings on LeBron, Bosh, Wade and Stoudemire yesterday – they could be left holding the bag of money, so to speak.

Watch out then if you’re looking for teams to over-spend on guys.

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So Phil Jackson says he’s going back to the Lakers for another shot; Doc Rivers isn’t going to abandon the Celtics for a quiet family year quite yet and Byron Scott gets recycled yet again.

So much for the coaching carousel, eh?

Am mildly surprised Jackson re-upped since all indications were that he’d trot off into the sunset to deal with some physical issues and marvel at his championship ring collection.

But that leaves just one gig – the Clippers – and then we’ve got all those vacancies filled.

If only free agency was so smooth.

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All right, another day of calls, e-mails and waiting ahead. Thank goodness there’s some football to help pass away the hours.

Comments

[chris]

No need to be so defensive about amir's deal --- he's a good young player. You'd be better off describing the great stuff he did last year than seeming so defensive (which almost makes it seem like you work for the raptors, which we know you don't).

[ad]

I don't understand the why BC is already resigned to the fact Bosh is leaving. Shouldn't he be trying to upgrade the team so Bosh will stay? He has Banks and Evans expiring contracts as trade assets plus some other young players like derozan/weems. I wish he would trade Bargnani. Plus, he can trade draft picks. I feel like BC has just given up on Bosh resigning rather than being proactive and improving the team.

[Jas Mance]

Doug, Amir is not a centre and will not play the 5 for the Raptors. He's 6'9'' and plays the 4.

[Steph]

Amir has grown into his body, has been in the league for four years developing into a starter quality type player. And, he has a zest for the game that compliments his team mates. He's getting to the point of where he can contribute in a real way to help win games. Very good signing in my opinion.

[jp]

"Um, one question: Wasn’t one of the big beefs from some that the Raptors wouldn’t spend what it took to win?"..yes, the operative words being "to win", not to dwell in the cellar of the league. Amir Johnson is an 8th man on a decent team. Its now becoming apparent why Sarver refused to give BC a contract. Hes like spoiled child using his fathers credit card with no regard whatsoever to the price and consequences of actions,..;.oh wait..

[Lorie]

Morning Doug,
So, you've "got" the Black Stars fan's hat? Care to describe it for us? And will you actually be wearing it? And how about Brazil being eliminated?

Blogger's note: Shocking result, especially since Netherlands has let me down since the Cruyff era. Good on them, though.

[james]

A guy that needed to be signed...yes a bit pricey, but he wants to be here, and he works hard...that's all I ask for as a Huskies fan. Now, BC, it is time to swing that sing and trade for Bosh...and try and package calderone with Bargagni for something else...GO CRAZY!

[Tony]

Great signing for the money.....
Drew Gooden 5 Years and 32 Million; You kidding me?
Amir will develop into a great defensive center, who can finish on the fly.
Can't wait for the rest of the summer signings!
Some ppl just don't get it!
Cheers Doug!

[Joel]

What about Turk to Spurs...for RJ sign and trade...he can knock down open jumpers, energy defender...better system...could rejuvinate his career, n'est pas? Maybe even TP too...we add Jose/Jack and DPs?? I guess the biggest obstacle to this and any Turk deals is the old 'Why would anyone take on 4 years of non-committed, checked-out basketball??' But he's been in SA before...

[Dave S in Ottawa]

Doug,
Do you think the re-signing of Amir impacts which PG, if any, gets traded? Amir and Jose seem to work well together on offence; whereas, he and Jack are buddies. Also, people talk about the expiring contracts of Banks and Evans, but do you think the free agent class of 2011 will warrant teams looking for expiring deals? Would expiring deals be of greater value because of the expectation that the new CBA will limit the size of the salary cap or salaries in general?

[Paul]

Hollinger at ESPN has a story on the ESPN NBA Front Page disagreeing
He thinks the Raps are nuts....Thinks Amirs a nice player but out bid themselves.

[john]

Hey Doug, can you post a blog that says it was all a mistake? Then you can get 30 comments from the same people against the signing, telling everyone what a dumb move it was to let a young talent get away... as for Amir's height, does the center position not have as much to do with skill set as it does with height? Its not grade school where the tallest guy is now the center. I would be more worried about his body mass than his size, he is pretty light... now we have all these big guys (some with very limited experience) but at least BC has something in the way of assets to work with to aquire pieces the team actually needs.

As for CB4. I would rather BC let him walk and let it cost CB4 $30mil to play for his chosen team than take on a long bad contract in the name of getting someone on the roster to save face and keep some fans happy. While Chris can go where ever he wants, it will cost him a lot of money if the team chooses doesnt have anything thats good for the Raptors. I think this is getting lost a little in all the hype about who the Raptors are getting back.

[nick]

Hey Doug,
Like the signing, by the end of the summer this could look downright cheap, and speaking of cheap (or not-so-cheap) thoughts on Darko for 20$ mil over 4, and first to be signed? Guess someone sees something I don't.

Also, people are talking a lot about the expirings we have in Banks and Evans; is there any sense in which these contracts are less valuable because of the looming CBA, or are expirings simply expirings, no matter what the year and circumstances?
Cheers (and Go Ghana!)

[James Online]

I like Amir on the Raptors, but the size of the contract is way out of line with his playing level (as is the case with virtually all of the "mediocre level" player signings the past 24 hours...and Joe Johnson got way more than he should too). Raps' fans seem to be thankful that anybody would sign with them.
Amir often had trouble staying on the floor for more than a few minutes because of his tendency to foul way too much. He was typically overmatched by quality opposing bigs.
And for those who think you build successfully around Amir, DeRozan, Weems, and Jack.....good luck with that project.

[Eric]

CBC reporting that Hedo met with PJ Carlesimo in Turkey and says he wants to rejoin the Raptors. (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/07/02/sp-turkoglu.html)

Would it not be better to try and start fresh with Hedo?

[Dennis]

I find it strange that posters describe Amir as a good defensive player...I didn't know the raps had any of those lol

[capt kirk]

This move had to happen in order to go on hiding the inability of the front court players to continue having an excuse not to grab rebounds. Can't wait till next year to see those long errant three point attempts get chased into the stands by our designated banger Amir. Hey at least he will save Jack from his gamely jogs into Gucci row.

[Dennis]

Our so called young guns are Weems, Deroazan,Bargarni,Johnson ?...that's our core ?...God help us, were gonna suck for awhile...top 5 draft pick in 2011 here we come

[Hooman]

Doug - once again you are the Raptors biggest cheerleader. Don't get me wrong, I know you will criticize their moves when necessary, but I just don't understand how anyone can legitimize paying almost 7mill/year for a Big off the bench. Maybe they will try to play him at centre but we all know Amir Johnson is a 7th or 8th man on a good team. We praised Bargnani for 11mill/year, probably did the same with Jose and now this. All over the internet, nba writers are talking about how we overpaid Amir, all of them except you. Good cheerleading.

[Adrian]

It's interesting how the young guns include just Sonny, Amir and Demar. No mention of Ed Davis anymore. And of course Bargnani's not so popular so they wouldn't bother including him..... because he is roughly the same age. Symbolic of how well he fits with the team, maybe.

I just wonder if Bargnani and Ed Davis are on the way out? Awfully quiet on those two. Hopefully too quiet.

[jim]

I must say that while I am a fan of Chris Bosh, I once felt that the only thing worse than losing him for nothing was to sign him for the max!(i hope that he thrives as a robin but he would not as a batman) Now the worse thing would be to get Beasley as part of his compensation.

Re Amir Johnson, great signing. The guy has great hands and can catch tough passes from Bargnani that Cb4 just could not handle. I had thought that Phoenix would target him as the next where-did-you-come-from-boris-diaw-now- that- stoudamire-is-hurt.

[Skiff]

Heh heh...I wasn't ripping the move, just that people should use better evidence then 6 end of year garbage games to justify the move. For what Amir does the Raps are probably paying the right price, though the amount of years concern me cap wise, but what can you do? I'm not banking on 16-6 games when the competition is Gasol, Howard, etc. and not D-League wannabes.

I am jumping the gun a little on the 20 win prediction, but I just have a feeling that the Raps are in pretty tough to do something impressive to compete with the top 8 teams next year. I'm generally an optimist about them, and that's why it worries me. I'll adjust my prediction in 3 weeks after all the dust has settled....

[GM]

One possible reason Doug is defending the signing while other internet gurus are slamming it is that, uh, Doug actually watched the Huskies play every game last season. These other "experts" watch the odd game from teams who aren't on American national TV and then just go off year-long stats. So they're looking at a guy who averaged a few points and rebounds and automatically assume that's all he can do without having seen with their eyes what he can do. Also, they're bottom-line beancounters.

One commenter gave me an idea. He mentioned the Huskies. I'm going to do that now, too. I'll just refer to them as the Huskies. And if tons of other people do that, maybe a movement will start. (Although you shouldn't cow-tow to the rest of the world by calling soccer 'football'. I'm not saying they shouldn't call it football, but we have our own name for it. Vive la difference.)

Good to see Adrian back here after he said goodbye the other day. I knew he couldn't stick it out. Welcome back to Huskie nation, pal!

[TJ]

Just a quick thought. With all the money being thrown around this summer, and how a lot of teams want a big, the AB resigning for roughly ten million is starting to look like a pretty good deal?
What do you think Doug?

Blogger's note: I always thought it was a pretty good deal.

[Danny]

Uhhh Adrian... Doug had Davis in his list of the young core. Good effort, shat disturber.