Johnson signs on for another year
Brett Brown has vowed to spend his offseason seeking “stars.”
Until he finds some, the Sixers’ coach and acting general manager will settle for stability.
As expected Monday, the Sixers re-enlisted Amir Johnson, 31, a backup center and useful forward. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. He made $11 million on a one-year deal last season.
“Our experience with Amir last year confirms to us, on so many levels, that he is a perfect fit for our young and developing team,” Brown said in a statement. “His work ethic, leadership and buy-in to team-first basketball, all comes to mind when I think of his value to our ball club and his acceptance of a back-up role to All-Star Joel Embiid is priceless.”
Johnson was an understated value last season, when he averaged 4.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 15.8 minutes. Despite that lack of boxscore sizzle, however, he won the NBA’s Hustle Award, which is determined by a measure of screen assists, deflections, charges drawn and loose balls corralled.
Previously, the 6-foot-9 Johnson played for the Pistons, Raptors and Celtics. The Sixers were expected to remove him from the payroll to have the room to sign LeBron James as a free agent.
“We are thrilled to have Amir and his family back in our program,” Brown said. “And I know this feeling is a shared by all of his teammates.”