How the Detroit Pistons Have Failed Amir Johnson
by Ray Stone
The drafting miscues haven’t been the only soft spot for the Pistons under Joe Dumars.
Amir Johnson shines as a good example of how the Detroit Pistons do not do a good job of developing players.
A 6-foot-9 kid out of high school is a blank canvas in the NBA. The Pistons drafted this broad-shouldered young man from LA and had an opportunity to develop him however they wanted.
Johnson is very quick off of the floor, has a nose for the ball, and he effortlessly flies up and down the basketball court as fast as anyone his size in the NBA.
The Pistons were the elite team in the Eastern Conference when AJ got to town. He saw virtually NO playing time during his first couple seasons. No development.
Funny thing is, the team was supposedly ‘running out of gas’ in the post-seasons, after the starters logged heavy minutes during the regular season.
It’s really odd.
Very strange to watch a team supposedly run out of gas, when they have a bouncy 19-year-old kid who would love to get on the floor and hustle for them. He was in street clothes a lot of games.
They were the best team in the conference, but why not start to groom the young guy right away?
It would have cost you some leads and games perhaps, but the Eastern Conference was hideous back then. It wouldn’t have mattered much at all. He would gain experience. Plus most importantly, its saves gas for the games that count.
But there he sat.
Suddenly this year the Pistons announced that they would start Amir Johnson at the power forward position. What? (Had they planned on this being a rebuilding year from the very beginning?)
He was clearly not ready to start. He hadn’t even been giving any consistent playing time at all in his career, now he’s going to be a starter in the NBA? WTH?
That’s not how it works.
After being thrown to the wolves and chewed up, Johnson was eventually benched again. Amir finished this campaign in a familiar fashion, glued to the Detroit bench.
It is too bad for the young guy. I really hope he is moved in a deal this summer for his sake. He needs a real opportunity to develop his basketball game.
He certainly has the talent to play at a high level in this league.
Too bad he didn’t land of a club like the Atlanta Hawks, or the 76ers, whose style of play is perfect for young athletic guys.
They both play a more up-tempo, attacking style game. Full court pressing after made baskets, Amir would fit quite well into a system like that.
I think it would benefit Amir to work on his offensive game facing the basket. Develop more of a small forward’s game as opposed to a power forward’s.
Despite the slow start to his career, he still has years to iron out his game.
He should aspire to be far more than just the rebounding, shot-blocking, hustle player role that this team carved out for him. The sky is the limit for the young man if he has a chance to learn the game.
There was little opportunity to do so in Detroit.
If he is dealt this summer, he should smile as he packs his bags. If he’s put in a good situation, I think we will hear a lot from Amir Johnson in years to come.
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Tags: Amir, Amir Johnson, John W. Davis, Pistonscast, Ray Stone
13 Responses
TADOne May 5th at 11:03 am
I’m sorry, but i’m done making excuses for Amir Johnson. Maybe, just maybe, he isn’t that good of a player. There was a reason he was the last player taken in the draft. Amir used his atleticism in high school and never developed any semblance of a post game or a consistent jumper. Yes, we all know he can run but he doesn’t know how to harness all of that energy. He is consistently out of position on offense and defense, doesn’t box out, only seems to hustle when the game is no longer in question and plays aren’t being called, reaches and fouls way too easily, and just loses his head in the game too easily.
I don’t want to hear about the Pistons not developing his either. Amir has been playing under and learning from Sheed and Antonio. I remember a young player with lots of athleticism who sat on the bench after getting drafted out of high school and learned the game. He didn’t see consistent playing time until his 4th season and didn’t start until he got onto another team. He learned from a veteran post player with superb fundamentals. That player? Jermaine O’Neal. His teacher? Rasheed Wallace.
My point is that Amir has to step up and put in work and learn the game to earn his playing time. I just feel that the Pistons overvalued his playing ability. It is time for this experiment to end.
TADOne May 5th at 11:04 am
Oh, but good piece Ray. I enjoyed it.
Deven aka (Pimp Scwalla) May 5th at 11:20 am
Ummm…didn’t Amir get a chance to start this season? Yes! He also got straight dominated by bigger and stronger players.
I like Amir and had high hopes for him. But Mr. Cotton is too damn soft for the bigger guys and two slow for the more athletic ones.
He had every opportunity to show what he can do. But so far, all he’s shown us is that he’s just not ready yet. So Amir, “we’re just not that in to you” anymore.
Ali Hassani May 5th at 4:25 pm
I think that amir’s biggest problem is that for a guy his height, he has a very low release in his shot. So it takes a lot of time and space for him to get a shot off. What that means is that he can’t post up people very easily because he can’t shoot over them and is too weak to overpower them.
That and also he’s too soft, but that generally comes with time, I doubt that Maxiell was always as aggressive as his is now (though I still think he needs to become a better defensive rebounder).
However, with all things in consideration, I’d rather see him traded than kept. We’re a team of too many role players, most teams only have 1 or 2 guys of Amir’s stature compared to the like 4 prospects with have on the roster alone (don’t forget about europe). Some of those guys need to be packaged as trade bait for this team to move forward, and with his cheap contract and athleticism, I don’t see why he would not be attractive to other teams looking to shed salary.
Darian May 5th at 8:43 pm
loved the article.. and the picture!
TADOne May 6th at 9:27 am
I’m wondering why John hasn’t come to the defense of his favorite Piston? If John has given up, you know it is time for the organization to do so as well.
John W. Davis May 6th at 1:33 pm
TAD TAD TAD. Episode 106 sir. Just listen to that later today. (Amir is still my favorite Piston!) nuff said!
TADOne May 6th at 2:33 pm
Blind faith.
John W. Davis May 6th at 3:09 pm
Oh ye oh little faith. I feel A Pistons Prayer coming… I feel it in my bones!
The bible says… all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed and god will take care of the rest!
Dont you believe in Amir that much?
TADOne May 6th at 4:23 pm
I did. Let’s just say i’ve given up in trying to bring young Amir “into the light”. It’s time for him to join a new congregation.
If i’m wrong, let me be persecuted.
Ali Hassani May 6th at 6:26 pm
Well John the way I look at it, if Amir is traded along with Prince for Chris Bosh, at least he’s got a much higher chance of consistent playing time.
So instead of being down about a possible move like that, I would look at the upside, the same way I dearly hope that Dyess signs with Cleveland or LA this summer. As much as we need him here in Detroit, he’s earned himself a ring, and quite frankly he’s the reason why we even made it to the confrence finals last year with the uninspired play from Chauncey and Sheed in the first and second round.
One-Take Davis May 7th at 6:41 am
Amir deserves a better opportunity but the Pistons deserve better output from AMIR!
Ali Hassani May 8th at 4:25 pm
No one is disagreeing with you, no need to get so upset about it. All of us agree that Amir definitely is still in the project stage. The question is how long do you wait until you declare him a bust.
Look at this video, in the DL he played very fundamentally sound, however even there clearly could not overpower people as a good pf should be able to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmbfHPuH4mU
And if you look here, Amir found his meanstreak and if you look at his frame you’ll see he has been hitting the weight room.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_pR6AxRIzA
While he’s gone from lanky to skinny, that’s still not good enough to dominate. And for a person of his size and talents, to the least he should have been a consistent rebounder, such as Joakim Noah. The thing is he was not rebounding, he was not getting blocks, and he was fouling at a higher rate than Maxiell and Brown so its hard to justify giving him playing time in close games.