Former Lottery Pick With Heat Ties Available as Buyout Target: Report

Getty Stanley Johnson handles the ball during a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets.

After an uneventful NBA trade deadline, the Miami Heat continue to be a team searching for more. In particular, the team could use more help up front where, outside of Bam Adebayo, players are either undersized (Caleb Martin), banged up (Omer Yurtseven), inexperienced (Orlando Robinson) or now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers (PJ Tucker).

There’s also a thought that the team could use some help at the point with Kyle Lowry continuing to bounce between underperformance and a lack of availability. But bringing in a positionally versatile big man is probably still at the top of Pat Riley’s to-do list.

One player who may fit the bill there is Serge Ibaka, and there’s apparently a level of mutual interest between the two parties. However, there’s a chance that the better option may be a player who was tied to the organization very briefly earlier this season.

Namely, former No. 8 overall pick Stanley Johnson.

Stanley Johnson Could Be a Heat Buyout Target After Being Waived by Spurs

Per a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs are intent on waiving forward Stanley Johnson in the coming days. Upon clearing waivers, the former lottery pick will be free to sign with a new team.

And for a Heat club that was considering bringing back Jae Crowder and has apparently at least weight the possibility of acquiring Ibaka, Johnson makes a lot of sense as a low-cost target.

Of course, fans who watch the transaction logs with a discerning eye have probably already clocked that the 26-year-old Johnson was actually acquired by the Heat’s G League affiliate — the Sioux Falls Skyforce — back in December. However, he appeared in just three Showcase Cup games for the club before landing his Spurs deal.

Despite the way his Spurs run looks to be ending, Johnson absolutely built upon the progress he showed last season during his time in the Alamo City. Over 30 games with the Spurs, Johnson averaged 5.8 points, 3.2 boards and 2.2 assists in just 15.6 minutes per game.

He has also connected on a career-best 45% of his three-point shots this season.

After Busting in Detroit, Johnson Has Battled Hard to Stay in the NBA

While Johnson’s athleticism and defensive instincts were apparent during his three-and-a-half-year run with the Pistons — who made him a top-10 pick in 2015 — Detroit ultimately decided his offense wasn’t up to snuff and ended up dealing him to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019.

That summer, however, he opted for a fresh start by signing with the Toronto Raptors, with whom he would spend the next two seasons.

In the fall of 2021, Johnson inked a training camp deal with the Chicago Bulls, with the goal of landing a back-end roster spot. Instead, he was waived and forced to work his way back up with the G League’s South Bay Lakers. After a hardship deal with the Bulls later that year amounted to nothing, he was finally scooped up by the big Lakers.

Johnson performed well in La La Land, too, earning a rest-of-year deal and a spot in the starting five while logging a 7-3-2 line and a career-best effective field-goal percentage of 53.2. Regardless, the Lakers sent him to the Utah Jazz in a summer trade and he was subsequently cut.

Clearly, though, he was able to find another gig in the league, and the smart money is probably on him doing the same thing again now.

Over eight years and 449 career games, Johnson has put up 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.9 steals in 20.1 minutes per outing. He’s a career 39.1% shooter overall and has converted 30.5% of his tries from long range.