Wesley Johnson is a nice player, but replaceable
Apr 16, 2013, 9:10 PM | Updated: 9:18 pm
This is going to be one busy and exciting offseason for the Phoenix Suns. With two first round draft picks, decisions to be made on the general manager and the interim coach and, of course, what to do with players like Luis Scola, Marcin Gortat, Michael Beasley, Marcus Morris and Wesley Johnson, Phoenix has some work to do.
In the case of Johnson, he has obviously benefited from the coaching change and got his career on track by averaging 10.5 points and shooting 42% from the field and 32% from three-point range since the switch from Alvin Gentry to Lindsey Hunter. Before the coaching change, he averaged just 2.4 points on 31% shooting in 7.4 minutes per game. He is a talented wing player, long and athletic, with the knocks on him being he doesn’t play defense, is an inconsistent shooter and lacks toughness. In reality he is a dime-a-dozen player and when it comes to re-signing him, it should only be at the right price. And that price is the NBA veteran’s minimum or maybe a tad more. At the very most, the Suns should keep Johnson at around $2 million per season. But if somebody wants to pay him more, then the Suns shouldn’t care and should let him go.
Trust me, nobody will miss Johnson if he is gone and he can be easily replaced and you don’t pay good money to players like that. There are tons of decent players in the league making the veteran’s minimum and dozens of players in the D-League just waiting for the chance to prove they can average 10 points a game. If Johnson wants to stay and continue to develop, then Phoenix could be the place for him and he would be welcomed back. But if he is looking to cash in, then cash in somewhere else.
