Summary

After being drafted #8 overall by Detroit in 2015, Johnson has not lived up to his hype, and struggled to earn the trust of head coach Nick Nurse after signing with the Raptors last summer. After the departure of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, there were certainly minutes at the wing that were ups for grabs. However, Johnson was unable to take advantage of that opportunity.

 

As Johnson's offensive game has not developed much since entering the NBA, his best position is probably at power forward. Johnson cannot create offense for himself, and hasn't shown to be much of a playmaker either. But take Johnson away from the perimeter and into the high post or dunker spot, and maybe Johnson can make some simple reads and thrive at that position.

 

Johnson is strong enough and athletic enough to guard multiple positions, but has not found a role in n the Raptors' excellent defensive system. 

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Cap Considerations

Johnson has a $3.8 million player option for next season, and if he declines that option he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $4.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights.

 

If Johnson is brought back using Non-Bird rights rather than cap space, the Raptors will be limited to paying him a starting salary of $4.3 million, which would likely be enough. Having only his Non-Bird rights will not restrict the Raptors, as they could use some of their cap space to re-sign Johnson if he demands more than $4.3 million. 

 

Teams other than the Raptors will have multiple ways to sign Johnson, as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him.