The Los Angeles Lakers did a smart thing on Wednesday: they not only re-signed Stanley Johnson for the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season, they offered him a two-year deal with a team option for 2022-23. Well-deserved.
Johnson — both his play and his story — has represented one of the few unequivocally bright spots of the Lakers season. After bouncing between the South Bay Lakers of the G League and the Chicago Bulls (on a 10-day stint in which he didn't play) this season — and playing for four franchises over the past four seasons — the pro Lakers inked the SoCal native to a 10-day hardship contract in late December.
In his first game for his hometown team, Johnson displayed the defensive tenacity, contagious energy, and wing athleticism that the Lakers sorely needed early in the season. On Christmas, he helped ignite a 23-point comeback by flustering Brooklyn Nets superstar James Harden in the fourth quarter. Last week, in a massive win against the Utah Jazz, Johnson stole the show down the stretch. He battled with Rudy Gobert, scored 10 points in the final period, and flexed to the Crypto.com Arena crowd.
Man. What a performance from Stanley Johnson.
On one end, battles in the post against Gobert and boxes him out for the board. Other end, Lakers kept putting Gobert into ball screen actions. I have no idea what he's doing here but kudos to Johnson for knocking down this jumper pic.twitter.com/o89Uassiax
— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) January 18, 2022
In 14 games (including six starts) for Los Angeles, the 2019 lottery pick has averaged 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on an impressive .516/.344/.789 shooting splits in 21.2 minutes per game. However, the Lakers will be the first to tell you that his value goes far beyond the box score.
The Lakers signed Johnson to two additional 10-day deals following the hardship. The third contract expired on Wednesday, meaning the Lakers had to choose whether to ink him for the rest of the season (at least) or let him go. They made the right choice. Frankly, it was a no-brainer. Here are three reasons why.
1) Defense
The Lakers do not have a defensively-inclined roster. Obviously, this was a major critique of last summer's moves: too many quality defenders (and two-way players) were sacrificed for increased play-making/shooting. Unfortunately, four of the defensive-minded guys they added — Howard, Jordan Trevor Ariza, and Kent Bazemore — have been busts, while Talen Horton-Tucker has not made the strides as a perimeter defender the organization anticipated. Avery Bradley is not nearly as good of a defender as Vogel seems to think he is, especially off-ball.
The emergence of Johnson and undrafted rookie Austin Reaves — two excellent defenders — has, arguably, kept the Lakers afloat (and that LeBron guy). For the Lakers to make a second-half run, they can't simply rely on Anthony Davis to clean up every mess. They're going to need stout defense on the wing. Reaves (+9.1) and Johnson (5.0) own the two highest net ratings on the team.
A rotation featuring Davis, LeBron, Johnson, Reaves, and — to a lesser-but-passable extent — Bradley and THT, is the Lakers' best chance at cobbling together an above-average defense. Johnson is a huge part of that.
“He’s one of our best defenders,” Frank Vogel said.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qIX7eVct5X13TtRu0XDFg?si=40bccb96b0394039
2) Versatility
Johnson's physical presence — his arms are really impressive in person, let me tell you — has helped the Lakers embrace small-ball in recent weeks. Even though he's only 6'6, his toughness and strength allow him to bang down low, which has spared LeBron James from the job, at times. Johnson, in fact, has proven to be a more-than-capable defender guarding 1-through-5.
Even with Davis back, the Lakers are going to continue to play relatively small. Howard and Jordan are essentially out of the rotation. AD will play the 5 when he's out there, and they'll go with some combination of LeBron/Stanley/Carmelo Anthony in the big spots when Davis is off.
Johnson's ability to play bigger than his size is crucial.
3) Effort
We've written about it — and the Lakers have talked about it — ad nauseam, but simply playing hard has been as crippling of an issue as to any this season for Los Angeles. Stringing together multiple games — and even quarters — of, in the parlance of Vogel, high “care-factor” basketball has been a surprising challenge for a team languishing in the standings.
Not a concern with Johnson. The dude absolutely brings it every minute he's out there. The Lakers need more guys to match his energy. Fortunately, his doggedness can be contagious.
“The thing for me is playing with energy,” Johnson said after the Jazz win. “I can’t be a stand-still statue. I have to get deflections, I have to play, I have to get myself in the game, I have to make myself useful because that’s where I excel on the defensive end.”
Johnson could theoretically take his foot off the gas now that he's got a bit more job security. It just doesn't seem in his character.
The Lakers still may decide to open up at least one roster spot for a buyout addition(s) — likely via packaging Jordan, Bazemore, Ellington, and/or Howard with either cash and/or conditional second-round picks. Johnson, thankfully, isn't going anywhere.
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