Newly-acquired guard Tyler Johnson is still gaining his bearings after a trade deadline move sent him from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns, now in the midst of a new experiment alongside rising star Devin Booker.
The agile hybrid guard went a combined 7-of-34 from the field during his first four games in his new uniform, only to bust out of his dire skid with a season-high 29 points against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Suns recently practiced at American Airlines Arena on Sunday in advance of Monday night's game against the Heat, as Johnson found himself going right after getting some sweat in, when he needed to go left.
“It's different, for sure,” said Johnson in an interview with Fox Sports Arizona (via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I accidentally walked out the other way, toward my old locker room.”
Johnson went from a guard-heavy rotation under Erik Spoelstra to a much younger one, nearly-devoid of guard talent.
“Just like any big transition in your life, it's going to take a minute to get settled,” he said. “But I think it's just how you approach it. You can look at things as a negative, like, ‘I just came over and I'm still learning the offense. I'm learning this. I'm learning that.' Or you know, you can embrace it.
“And that's what I've chosen to do, is just embrace it and I know good things will come from it.”
Phoenix brought the lefty combo guard as a potential backcourt partner to Booker, who has handled point guard duties for the majority of the season.
The organization hoped Booker could go back to his natural shooting guard position, with Johnson playing the role of facilitator and a support scorer — something the team will need to figure out throughout the last 21 games of the season, as he adjusts to this transition.
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