Former NBA big man Amir Johnson is joining the Clippers‘ coaching staff under head coach Tyronn Lue in a player development role, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A 14-year veteran, Johnson appeared in a total of 870 NBA regular season games for the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, and Sixers from 2005-19. The 37-year-old averaged 7.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 21.1 minutes per night over the course of his career
When his NBA opportunities dried up, Johnson caught on with the G League Ignite, first as a player and veteran mentor for the team’s young prospects, then as an assistant coach in 2023/24.
As Murray observes, current Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga was a member of the Celtics’ staff during Johnson’s two seasons in Boston from 2015-17. Larranaga has worked with the Clippers’ big men since 2021.
Johnson, who was with the Clippers in Las Vegas at Summer League last month, figures to supplement Larranaga’s work with the bigs in his new role with the organization.
Damn prayers up for whoever he is developing
Lol. If he can teach them how to pull off his legendary shaqtin double dribble he’ll have earned his paycheck
Why it’s better than having a 22 year old rookie just wanting to launch 3 pointers. So you are wrong