Ty Lawson trade analysis: Nick Johnson

The Ty Lawson saga that unfolded over the last few months has been well documented at BSNDenver.com. From his first few DUIs to his numerous Instagram snafus all the way to his rehab assignment in California — we’ve seen and covered it all. And while I’ve expounded greatly on how the Nuggets got fleeced when ultimately trading Lawson to Houston, I’ve yet to actually sit down and examine the assets Denver received in return, which I’ll be doing over the next week in this series.

Up first, the player I consider to have the most potential of the three former Rockets currently remaining on the Nuggets’ roster, Nick Johnson.

When discussing Nick Johnson the first thing I should note is that I’ve been a huge fan of his for several years now. So — disclaimer — I’m perhaps a bit biased when it comes to the former Arizona standout.

Last summer during RoundballMiningCompany.com’s extensive scouting process leading up to the 2014 NBA Draft I labeled Johnson as one of my primary targets for the Nuggets with the 41st pick in the second round. Also included in that bunch of prospects was Nikola Jokic, whom the Nuggets eventually selected one spot ahead of Johnson. Here’s what I had to say about the 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year prior to the draft:

I’m slowly coming to terms with the realization that other people just don’t like Nick Johnson as much as I do. But what I’m still having a hard time understanding is why exactly that is. People say his size will be a detriment to his success at the next level; they also say his size will be a detriment to his success at the next level. Actually, that’s all they say. And perhaps they’re right. At 6-3 he’s an undersized scoring guard by NBA standards. Then again, so is Randy Foye and about a billion other guys in the NBA. All I know is that I watched Johnson a lot in college and I always came away impressed. He has two elite skills — shooting (potentially) and athleticism — as well as the ability to run the point if necessary. I won’t be surprised if Johnson fails to find his niche at the next level, but I also won’t be surprised if he morphs into a defensive-minded role player for a title contender who can stretch the floor and occasionally throw down monster jams on people’s heads.

Though a year has passed nothing has changed concerning my affinity for Nick Johnson. I still have faith he’ll find his niche in the NBA thanks to ridiculous athleticism (see the Summer League dunk compilation video above), excellent defense (he was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team his junior year) and potential to knock down 3-pointers at the next level (he shot a combined 38 percent from downtown his final two years at Arizona). In the NBA, all three of these attributes are highly sought after and luckily for Johnson (and the Nuggets!) he has them all.

The one knock on Johnson leading up to the 2014 Draft was his size, and unfortunately nothing has changed in this respect as well. If he were three inches taller Johnson likely would have been a lottery pick last year; instead he dropped to the second round. Though incredibly athletic and capable of telegraphing fancy passes on the offensive end of the floor, Johnson is at heart a shooting guard with an average handle — somewhat similar to Gary Harris.

In 28 games as a rookie with Houston, Johnson averaged nearly three points on 35 percent shooting in roughly nine minutes per contest. Again, similar to Harris, Johnson’s rookie season was essentially a throw-away (if you want to get technical Johnson actually had a better rookie campaign than Harris did, statistically — for what it’s worth, which is nothing, really). That said, Johnson did average 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and nearly a block per game in his D-League assignment with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season, including a near 40-point outburst against the Bakersfield Jam (also seen above).

Though diminutive, Johnson still has tons of innate talent and the right set of skills that will help him succeed at the professional level. What will likely determine his apogee, as is the case with most athletes, is his work ethic and improvement with regards to the attributes he already harnesses. If Johnson continues to focus on perfecting his long-range shooting and defense, he’ll have no problem carving out a role in the NBA.