Amir Johnson
Season stats: 4.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, 53.8% FG, 31.3% 3PT, 61.2% FT
Grade: B-
Amir Johnson had a decent year for Philly. He did not set the world on fire by any means, but given his size and ability, he had a pretty solid campaign. Given today’s market, the one-year, $11 million deal he received last summer proved decent value.
Unlike Holmes, Johnson actually had a clue on the defensive end. He posted a 3.1 defensive box plus-minus and a 3.1 block percentage. Even though 7-2 Joel Embiid towers over the 6-9 reserve center, Johnson managed to put up a higher defensive box plus-minus, although the L.A. native played far fewer minutes.
Along with those impressive defensive stats, Johnson showed his grit by posting a solid 15.2 rebound percentage. Johnson is a decent reserve center and always brings consistent effort, even though has a limited offensive skill set. As his 31.3 percent three-point shooting indicates, he can even step out and hit the open three sometimes.
In the playoffs, he fell out of favor with Brett Brown. The coach opted to play Ersan Ilyasova at center over the last player ever drafted straight out of high school. Johnson played just 17 minutes in the entire second round vs the Celtics, scoring no points, so it looks like the big fella will not come back next season.