Just saw it on NBATV. I didn't know he had that kind of athleticism. Check out NBA Gametime if you want to see it yourself.
Armon's put back dunk is @ 0:38 of the video: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20120109/IDAERI/gameinfo.html
http://www.nbadraft.net/2010-nba-draft-top-5-lists Had him listed as the 3rd most athletic player from the draft.
I would have rather smith go down and keep Johnson on the team; but maybe being in the nbadl will help his game. He seems like he can be a stud.
I dunno about stud, seems like he has the tools to be a journyman backup PG if he could ever develop his shot. Decent ball handling skills, okay court vision pretty solid first step and very good speed. The only thing that really jumps out when looking at him is his defense other then that he his lack of an outside shot coupled with what seems like only okay court vision seems like it would make it hard for him to make plays. I see his upside as a kirk hinrich light.
OK, maybe a more athletic, one armed Kirk Hinrich that can't shoot. Other than that, they are EXACTLY alike! Seriously, Hinrich was the starting PG on some pretty decent Bulls teams. In his best season, Hinrich averaged 16.6ppg, 6.3apg, shot 0.415 3FG% and the Bulls won 49 games, and he was 2nd team all-defense.. I just don't see Armon Johnson ever coming anywhere close to those numbers. He'll never be a starter (or even a good backup) on an NBA team until he develops an outside shot and learns to go to his right once in a while. As it is, all defenders need to do is back off him a step or two, to dare him to shoot and overplay his left hand and force him to his right. That takes away his penetration and makes him very easy to guard. There's a reason he's in the D-League. As damning as is sounds, he's no Kirk Hinrich. BNM
I guess Hinrich is a bad example especially because he could and did shoot the three ball at a nice clip. I was more using him as an exampled because He is a hard nosed defenders who didn't have the best court vision and were nothing more then a decent starting PG.
Wow I noticed that many "defensive minded pg's" usually have poor shooting averages. Makes me respect Gary Payton even more. I doubt anyone would argue that Gary Payton wasn't one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA; yet during his prime, he was at a very high 48%. That's SMART! http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/paytoga01.html
Armon's ceiling is probably Eric Snow (if he ever learns how to run an offense). At least that's the closest guy I can think of when I watch him play.
Au contraire ... As miserable as Felton's FG% and as turnover prone he's been, he can still run an offense. One fairly brilliant floor game last year aside, Armon has been next to clueless in the times I've seen him. If Armon were this team's starting point guard, I'd wager we'd be lucky to have 2 wins.
I am not an Armon lover, but Felton is terrible this year. The only GOOD thing he does is dish the rock; and ~~7 assists average is pretty normal for a starting NBA PG. However, that doesn't make up for his glaringly terrible weaknesses.
He kind of reminds me of Antonio Daniels. A guy who might hang around in the league based on sheer athleticism and determination to play defense.
Walker will play playing until he's eligible for social security (shouldn't be much longer). Apparently, he pissed away all the money he made and needs the paycheck and per diem. Does anybody remember when the NBDL was first formed there were very specific rules in place that it was supposed to be a DEVELOPMENT league for your players. There was a 25 year max age limit and if a player had been on an NBA roster for more than 2 years they were no longer eligible. The point was to give young kids, with little or no college experience, a place to play rather than just sitting on the end of the bench, not developing, until their guaranteed rookie contract was up. That happened to Ha. He would have benefited from a couple more seasons in the NBDL, but after his first two seasons with the Blazers he was no longer D-league eligible and returned to Korea. Now, it's a rag tag combination of a few young guys playing against a lot of old guys who are either WAY over the hill, or never even made it up the hill in the first place. In addition to an old, incredibly fat Antoine Walker, I saw an equally old, nearly as fast Greg Ostertag playing in a D-League game a couple days ago. Who’s next, Dwayne Schintzius? BNM
