The Heat have formally extended a qualifying offer to combo guard Tyler Johnson, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (via Twitter). By doing so, Miami has made Johnson a restricted free agent, which means the team will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet Johnson were to ink this summer.
Johnson, 24, earned $845,059 for his work in 2015/16 and his qualifying offer is valued at $1,180,431. With the NBA salary cap set to increase to as much as $94MM for 2016/17, Johnson has an excellent shot at significantly increasing his salary for this past season, plus, he has the opportunity to sign a long-term agreement that would provide him with greater security moving forward.
The combo guard’s 2015/16 campaign was shortened due to injury, with Johnson only appearing in 36 contests courtesy of a bum shoulder that required surgery in February. Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.0 minutes per outing for the Heat when on the court and his shooting line on the season was .486/.380/.797.
Great. Pure hustle. Good 3 pt. shooter but look for him to improve. Better than average defender, can play multiple positions, spark off the bench and worth every penny and more. Hope they hang on to him and are not tempted to package him in a trade.
Don’t have much to add. Big fan of TJ here. Already assuming he’ll be back