2:19pm: In their announcement officially confirming Johnson’s signing, the Kings added that he’ll be assigned to the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate. That move will allow Johnson to continue his NBAGL playoff run with Lakeland.
11:09am: After signing a pair of 10-day contracts with Atlanta earlier this year, rookie swingman B.J. Johnson will finish the 2018/19 season with another NBA team. According to Jason Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Kings are signing Johnson for the rest of the season. NBA.com’s official transactions log confirms that the move was finalized on Monday.
Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, has spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic in the G League. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games, earning him an NBA shot with the Hawks.
Over the span of 20 days in Atlanta, the 23-year-old appeared in six games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.3 RPG in limited minutes (7.2 MPG).
The Kings had an open spot on their 15-man roster after Cody Demps‘ 10-day deal expired, so no corresponding move is necessary to create room for Johnson, who figures to earn a rest-of-season minimum salary worth just over $47K. There’s no indication yet that his new contract includes any form of team option for 2019/20.
Jones adds that the Kings intend to immediately assign Johnson to the G League so he can resume playing in the postseason. However, Sacramento’s own affiliate – the Stockton Kings – has been eliminated from the NBAGL playoffs, and it’s not clear that assignment rules would allow the Kings to send him back to his old team in Lakeland. We’ll wait for official word on Johnson’s status.
Is this meant as a SAC getting a leg up on signing Johnson this offseason? Doing him a solid?