Source: Bulls to Assign James Johnson to D-League We knew something was going on when J.J. was in street clothes on Monday. Reading between the lines from the article: J.J. may have gained his weight back and may be out of shape; the Bulls optioned him to Iowa without any minute constraints; and there's no interest around the league in his services. It's too bad -- J.J. certainly has talent. I hope he's able to pull it all together.
His problem always seemed to be between his ears. The coach would rather play Deng 48 minutes than put JJ on the court for 1. He was incredibly streaky for us. He'd either really suck and turn the ball over making the stupidest of decisions, or look like a future star. The latter happened too infrequently, unfortunately. Not playing him obviously hurt any trade value he might have had. Why would anyone trade for him when they could gamble on a draft pick?
Can't help but wonder what made the Bulls pull the trigger on this now. Others can continue to hold out hope for JJ, but I'm making my call now.
I really liked JJ. Yeah, he's losing focus. Will it hurt locker room morale? I hope he can restore his focus and get some confidence and discipline in his game.
There was a little blurb the other day that he'd hurt his knee and was finally healthy. So, um... Maybe that's part of the deal. Largely I think he's a bust too, but I guess I think the Bulls could afford to give him Bogans minutes without falling apart too. Not gonna happen though.
The list of players to whom you could afford to give Bogans minutes is VERY long, but I don't think JJ's on it. The only good thing you can say about Bogans is that he doesn't make a lot of mistakes (akin to the old line about "Well, she don't sweat much for a fat girl."). Not only is JJ's M.O. that he makes a lot of mistakes, but he makes them at his natural (forward) position. I get the "anyone but Bogans" line of thinking and am pretty much on board with it. Just please not JJ.
Perhaps you're right transplant, but the way I look at it, right now the Bulls have the opportunity to give it a whirl and see how it goes. If he makes mistakes that cost a game or two in the regular season... I can live with that. It wouldnt be the end of the world, especially if it results in valuable experience and growth. If it doesnt, weve at least definitively learned it wont. I don't actually expect the mistakes to be that bad, even though I do expect them. You can always give the guy the hook Ina given game if you need to. Right now seems to be a good time to give guys a chance to show off. The reg season is a long haul, and I don't think it'd hurt too much. Jmo
His first game against Rio Grande Valley Vipers as a starter 29 minutes, 6-11 FGs( 0-2 on 3s), 4-5 FTs, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 3 to, 5 fouls, 16 pts
I think he also played yesterday (also against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers): 30 minutes, 10-14 FGs (0-2 on 3s), 8-8 FTs, 4reb, 1 ast, 28pts. I'm glad to see JJ's putting up numbers, but if you look at the box scores, no one is playing anything that resembles defense. They're not worth a whole lot. There was a twitter post from some reporter who mentioned that JJ's camp requested the assignment, and the expected duration was only two weeks (right up until the trade deadline). You wonder if JJ's agent is trying to find a better spot for him to get minutes and that he's being showcased.
There was a nice article on Bulls.com by Adam Fluck that went into more detail about Johnson's stint in Iowa: It's nice to see that the organization sent Pete Myers to scout J.J.'s performance. NBDL games can be shit shows and counter-productive if a player isn't working on specific aspects of his game. The article does a lot to combat the earlier AOL post about J.J. being out of shape and disgruntled, but who knows what's accurate. I wouldn't be completely surprised if there is a lineup change after the all-star break when Noah is reintegrated. Perhaps, this is pure hope on my part, but Asik is almost at the point where he's contributing something relatively consistently in his minutes, and the Bulls could afford to work on another project. Move Brewer in to the starting lineup; bring Korver off the bench as usual, and split Brewer's old role with minutes from JJ and Bogans; similar to as the team will probably do with Asik's and Thomas' minutes. The handling may just as easily be as I mentioned earlier: A move by the franchise to showcase J.J. before the deadline.
Johnson went for 10 points (4/11, 2/2 ft, 0/2 from 3), 11reb, 7a, 1s, 3b, 3to, 5f. I watched some of the game and he was hampered by foul trouble throughout. This may be a basic question but why is the D League so God awful? Neither team had any instituted offensive or defensive schemes. J.J. kept looking around for off the ball screens and none were taking place. At one point he went up to set a high pick for a guard and the guard just kind of freaked out. I wish J.J. would have spent an additional season in college, or that you could option players to European teams. J.J. was the most talented player on the court, but you can see that he hasn't put it all together, and I'm not sure the D League will help him get there.
Because the teams are a mish mash of players who either play for different orgs and are making pit stops, or players that are trying to show off and get noticed. I guess it's better than nothing, but it's still a pretty far cry from a real farm system, where the DL team is really geared toward a particular team's needs.
Well, JJ's still tearing it up. His last two games: 31 points (12-16 frield, 4-5 line, 3-4 3 pt), 14 boards, 7 reb, 6 blocks, and 3 st in 31 minutes. 14 pts (6-7 shooting) 5 reb, 4 asts, 2 blocks, in 20 minutes. I know it's D-League, but at least he's balling. Hypothetical: What would Bogans' stat line look like in the D-League?
This has to be the best thing for this guy. I can't see how a player can develop while riding the pine and playing 5 minutes a week. Also, given the NBA lifestyle, it would be pretty easy to gain weight when you are not playing at all. The NBA would be better off with a real farm system, but this is better than nothing.
Everything you say makes sense logically but man they play shitty ball in the D-League. It's like some weird alternate universe which is designed so that each player has a strong box score. They play hard on defense but only to the extent that it will get them a steal or a block without picking up a foul. They don't care if the other team scores. They play at a frantic pace regardless of whether their team is up or down -- again winning isn't important. They don't take low percentage shots or ball hog but you rarely see more than one pass on offense. Again, the play is designed for one person to get a score and one person to get an assist, and since no one plays real D, they accomplish their goal most of the time. Our problem with J.J. has been his ability to play under control, limit his turnovers, and control the pace of his game. In the one game I saw, he seemed to play more under control than anyone else on the court; meaning the D-League could actually make him worse at these types of things. J.J. didn't look out of shape from what I could tell. It was impossible to be certain because the resolution of the web feeds is so poor. J.J. really needs an extra two years of college, and unfortunately there's no way to replicate that.
It would be pretty darn fun if you could option players to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Real Madrid and the like. Even if you were sending them to second tier Euroleague teams. I would love to have a European team to root for.
