<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Houston will select Arizona's Nick Johnson with the 42nd pick, league source tells Yahoo.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/482363250466889728">June 27, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Meh. And this was supposedly the player that the Rockets planned on keeping.... Canaan/Bev/Lin/Johnson
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Kid is tough as nails. Undersized 2 but extremely athletic and a good defender. Think he could step into the rotation and defend the perimeter right away.
Prospect Analysis Strengths Great defender Good passer Great athlete Solid 3-point shooter Weaknesses Undersized for an NBA two guard NBA projection: Johnson has been projected by draft analysts as a second-round pick. 2013-14 Season Johnson landed on several All-America teams, was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year, first-team All-Pac-12 and to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team after leading his team to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Key statistics: 16.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.6 tpg, 33.0 mpg, .432 FG, .367 3PT, .781 FT Cool statistic: Johnson scored 618 points this season, the most of any player in coach Sean Miller’s five seasons at Arizona. Reminds me of: Dennis Johnson What Insiders Say Arizona coach Sean Miller “Nick embodies all of the qualities you want in a player. He’s extremely unselfish, plays both ends of the floor and always thinks about winning first. He’s made a meteoric improvement across the board in his time at Arizona, and that stems from his unbelievable attitude and his desire to be a great player.” What Outsiders Say NBA Northwest Division executive "I love what he brings on the defensive end. He's tough, physical, good feet, takes pride in guarding.” David Aldridge's Big Board 2014: Shooting Guards | Rank: No. 5 TNT Analyst David Aldridge breaks down the top prospects at each position Arizona's Nick Johnson doesn't have a twin pro prospect, but he does come from classic NBA bloodlines. His uncle was the late, great Celtics guard and Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson. DJ's nephew has picked up the gene that made him one of the toughest on-ball defenders of his era. But Nick Johnson's all-around game is what made him a first-team all America selection by AP, the NABC and the United States Basketball Writers' Association. He led the Wildcats in scoring, scoring 20 or more 11 times this past season, teaming with fellow NBA prospect Aaron Gordon in leading Arizona to the Elite Eight.
Johnson's actually a very, very good pick for our team. He's an undersized (though very athletic) 2 at a generous 6'3", but is tough defensively and can hit the 3 as well as run in the open floor. Can't handle the ball too well so can't really play the one, but would figure to pair very well with another ball dominant guard who can bring the ball up the floor while defending opposing point guards on the other side of the floor. Sound familiar? I like this pick.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>MT <a href="https://twitter.com/DannyLeroux">@DannyLeroux</a>: In my draft piece that did not air, my "Good Fit" for Nick Johnson was HOU. He could be a fun chaos-bringer next to Harden.</p>— RealGM (@RealGM) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealGM/statuses/482363865833816065">June 27, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
