Empty the Bench

You already know we have mad love for Amir Johnson. After we found out that the uber-talented young man is actually enjoying his time playing in the D-League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, well, we like him that much more. How often do you read about guys like Johnson actually turning down a chance to rejoin his NBA team? The answer, friends, is never.

The Argus Leader reports that Detroit Pistons team president Joe Dumars, along with the team’s vice-president of basketball operations, John Hammond, approached Johnson about what he preferred to do for the rest of the season. Showing maturity and admirable loyalty to his fellow D-League teammates, Johnson said ‘thanks, but no thanks’, which was just fine with Hammond and the Pistons:

The Pistons called early last week and gave him the option of returning to the NBA or staying in Sioux Falls for the rest of the D-League season – including a run at the title.
“I told them I wanted to stay,” says the 2005 second-round draft pick, relaxing in a booth at a local pancake house. “In Detroit, I kind of got depressed not playing, because I’m a young guy and I want to show what I can do.

I’m having a blast right here, and we’ve got a chance to finish with a championship.”

Of course, Johnson is still the property of the Pistons, who can summon him at any time to fill a need. But the kid’s devotion to the D-League impressed team president Joe Dumars. “Joe’s thinking was, ‘Let’s have Amir vested in this decision,’ ” says John Hammond, Detroit’s vice president of basketball operations. “And it shows you an awful lot about Amir Johnson that he’s committed to helping (the Skyforce) win. There are a lot of players who feel like, ‘If I’m in the D-League, get me out of there and back to the NBA as soon as possible.’ But Amir wants to keep playing – and keep winning.”

Johnson has also made quite an impression on Skyforce head coach Mo McHone:

“He just wants to be in the game, and it means something for him to win,” says McHone of the former California Mr. Basketball, who played in 17 D-League games as a rookie with the Fayetteville (N.C.) Patriots.

As for Johnson’s dunking skills – he thrilled Arena fans with several windmill jams during the weekend sweep of Tulsa – McHone and assistant Nate Tibbetts admit to being in awe. “When it comes to that stuff,” says McHone, “he’s definitely the best that I’ve ever coached. He was going in for the slam, and I was worried that the defender would run into him and maybe they’d collide,” says McHone. “Amir came back to the bench and said, ‘If that was going to happen, Coach, I would have jumped over him.’ And I believe that he would have.”

Clearly there’s a lot to like about Amir Johnson and his potential to develop into a quality NBA player. He still has a loooooong way to go, but we’re certainly not the only ones who think Johnson’s future is very, very bright.