Ivan Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Officiating Changes, BIG3, D-League

March 6th, 2017 at 10:01pm CST by Milo Taibi

David Aldridge of TNT explored changes NBA referees will face in the future, as well as modifications that have already been implemented. One change that has been met with praise, Aldridge writes, is postgame feedback coaches can write regarding a referee’s performance. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called the addition “very valuable,” adding “Constant feedback in essentially real time throughout the season keeps everyone current.” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry concurred: “I have used it, and it’s good to be able to send in comments about the game so quickly.”

The league has also used four (or five) man referee crews at the D-League level, citing the benefits of “having an extra set of eyes on the floor.” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored was neutral toward having extra officials.

“It gave us a very open and low-pressure environment to experiment with it,” Nored said. “From a coaching standpoint, to be honest, there was nothing that stuck out in my mind where I would say it was a bad system or there was something negative.”

Ivan Johnson To Play In Philippines

February 17th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former NBA player Ivan Johnson has signed with Talk N Text in the Philippines, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Johnson was waived earlier this month by the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, in order for him to pursue this overseas opportunity. The power forward’s contract with Talk N Text includes an NBA out clause, Charania adds.

Johnson went undrafted out of Cal State San Bernardino back in 2008, and he didn’t manage to garner an NBA training camp invitation until the 2011 campaign. He parlayed that opportunity into a roster spot with the Hawks, and the 6’8″ forward played two seasons in Atlanta before heading across the pond to China for a more lucrative opportunity during the 2013/14 campaign. The 30-year-old was signed by the Mavericks to a minimum salary arrangement this past summer, but he was waived prior to the season commencing. Johnson had also reportedly worked out for the Nets, Blazers and Spurs prior to inking a pact with Dallas.

In 125 career NBA appearances, Johnson has averaged 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. His career slash line is .517/.158/.662. Last season for the Zheijang Golden Bulls, Johnson notched 26.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 32.8 MPG per contest.

Western Notes: Rondo, Johnson, Davis

February 6th, 2015 at 9:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks still haven’t ruled out surgery for Rajon Rondo, who suffered orbital and nasal fractures earlier this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). For now, the point guard will miss at least the next three contests, and Dallas is hoping that a prolonged rest will abate the need for any invasive procedures, and a longer period of inactivity as a result, Stein adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Lakers swingman Wesley Johnson has signed with Jeff Austin and Omar Wilkes of Octagon Sports, Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal reports (Twitter link). Johnson was previously represented by the Landmark Sports Agency. The 27-year-old, who is making $981,084 this season, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Ed Davis has also left Landmark Sports and will now be represented by Leon Rose of the Creative Artists Agency, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News reports. Davis will reportedly turn down his player option with the Lakers worth $1,100,602 for 2015/16 in order to pursue a long-term deal in free agency.
Former Clippers point guard Jordan Farmar‘s contract with the Turkish team Darussafaka Dogus calls for him to make $800K for the remainder of the season, Can Pelister of TrendBasket.net reports (Twitter link; hat tip to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com). Since Farmar’s new contract is for less than the $816,482 one-year veteran’s minimum salary, Los Angeles will not be able to recoup any of the money it owes Farmer through set-off rights.
Ivan Johnson has been waived by the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). The reason for the release is likely because Johnson has secured an overseas deal, Pilato adds. In seven D-League appearances this season, Johnson has averaged 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game.

Ivan Johnson To Play For Mavs D-League Team

December 5th, 2014 at 2:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 2:38pm: The Legends have claimed Johnson, the team announced.

THURSDAY, 1:48pm: Sources tell Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com that Johnson will join the Texas Legends, who are the affiliate of the Mavs (Twitter link; hat tip to David Pick of Eurobasket.com). Still, it appears that the Legends will have to acquire him through D-League waivers rather than sign him outright, since Dallas instead kept the D-League rights to four other preseason cuts, leaving the Mavs without a chance to do so with Johnson.

1:26pm: Two-year NBA veteran Ivan Johnson is joining the D-League, which will assign him to a team through its waiver system, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Charania’s tweet indicates that Johnson has already signed, though the D-League has yet to make a formal announcement. Johnson spent the preseason with the Mavs, who cut him before opening night after signing him to a partially guaranteed deal over the summer.

The 30-year-old power forward played in China last season after the end of a two-year run with the Hawks in which he significantly enhanced his profile. Johnson bounced around the D-League and international ball after going undrafted out of Cal State San Bernardino in 2008, but eventually his physical play helped him carve out a consistent role with the Hawks, for whom he averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game across 125 total appearances. He held out for more than the minimum salary despite interest from a handful of NBA teams in the summer of 2013, but he was willing to settle for the minimum this past offseason after a year out of the league. The Jeremiah Haylett client reportedly worked out for the Nets, Spurs and Blazers not long before inking with the Mavs.

Johnson will remain free to sign with any NBA team no matter the D-League club he ends up with. He averaged 22.6 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 31.3 MPG over 49 D-League games in 2010/11, his last season before joining the Hawks, so he no doubt hopes a similar performance will once again vault him into the Association.

And-Ones: Howard, Waiters, Johnson, Pacers

November 12th, 2014 at 4:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard makes several candid comments in an EPIX.com documentary about his departure from the Magic, his year with the Lakers, and the 2013 back injury that one of his surgeons believes had a decent chance to end his career, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Howard also delved into his relationship with Kobe Bryant.

“Before I got to the Lakers, I would talk to him [and] he would really help me out on the [down] low about how to become everything that I said I wanted to be. And I looked up to him and I looked up to everything he, as a basketball player, stood for,” Howard said, as Stein transcribes. “… [By the end of that season] I just felt so hurt and disappointed in the fact that the guy that I was expecting to be somebody who was gonna pass the torch, somebody to say, ‘Dwight, I’ll take you under my wing and I’ll show you how to get it done’ … it was none of that.”

Howard remains a fascinating figure even as his long-term deal with the Rockets has quieted the rumors that surrounded him. Here’s more from around the league:

The Cavs shopped Dion Waiters this past August but found no takers, according to Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com, who writes in an Insider-only piece. That conflicts with a report from early August that indicated the Cavs weren’t trying to trade the shooting guard.
Ivan Johnson has drawn offers from NBA teams and clubs overseas, a source tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcón (Twitter link and translation). He plans to make a decision about whom to sign with in the next couple of weeks, Alarcón adds.
Frank Vogel believes Lance Stephenson would have chosen to re-sign with the Pacers if he’d known Paul George would suffer his broken leg, as Vogel tells Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. “I think he probably — and we probably — would have approached it differently,” Vogel said. “The money would have to have been right, and we would’ve had to figure that out. But he would have had much more incentive to stay.”

Mavs Waive James, Johnson, Lamb

October 25th, 2014 at 3:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks have officially waived Bernard James, Ivan Johnson, and Doron Lamb, the team has announced. These moves bring Dallas’ preseason roster count down to the league maximum 15, so no further roster moves would be required prior to beginning the regular season. This also means that Charlie Villanueva and his non-guaranteed contract is likely to make the regular season roster, though that’s just my speculation.

James’ contract was fully guaranteed for $915,243, and the team has reportedly looking to trade the center, but apparently no takers were found. Lamb’s deal came with no guarantee, but Johnson’s contract included a partial guarantee of $25K, which the Mavs will be responsible to pay.

It’s not clear if the team will look to send any of these players to the NBA D-League at this time. Teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players. Lamb would seem to be the most likely of the bunch for Dallas to try and develop down in the D-League, seeing as he’s the youngest of the players that were waived, and has the most potential upside.

And-Ones: Clippers, Diawara, Mavs, Cavs

August 20th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Interim Clippers CEO Dick Parsons will step down in a few weeks, as he tells the Fox Business Network, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). The move is no surprise now that Steve Ballmer has officially taken over the franchise, since Parsons said in May shortly after the league installed him as a caretaker for the team that he had no plans of remaining with the club after its ownership situation was resolved. Parsons has been acting as a “proxy owner,” as he put it, with final authority over any decisions president of basketball operations Doc Rivers made. Here’s more from around the league:

Multiple NBA teams had interest in bringing Yakhouba Diawara back to the league this summer, but he indicated on his Twitter account late Tuesday that he’s signing with Pallacanestro Varese of Italy (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). David Pick of Eurobasket.com confirms the news with a tweet of his own. Diawara worked out for the Raptors, Bucks and Nets over the past few months.
This season’s minimum salary in Ivan Johnson‘s two-year contract with the Mavs is guaranteed for only $25K, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
It appears as though the Cavs guaranteed $65K of the minimum salary for Alex Kirk this season, Pincus also tweets.

Mavericks Notes: Marion, Aminu, Lewis

July 29th, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mavericks president Donnie Nelson is still open to signing Shawn Marion, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This isn’t any different from what Nelson said in a radio interview roughly two weeks ago, when he said that the team wouldn’t close the door on attempting to bring the 6’7 forward back to Dallas. It’s worth noting that the Mavs still had their $2.7MM room exception at that point; however, Nelson said that Marion’s value in the free agent market was much more than the team could afford. Now that the team used the room exception to sign Jameer Nelson, it seems even less likely that a reunion with “The Matrix” would materialize.

Here’s more out of Dallas tonight:

Donnie Nelson admitted that the team had originally considered signing Al-Farouq Aminu with their room exception, according to Price (Twitter link). The Mavs were fortunate to land the young forward on a veteran’s minimum deal instead.
Price also heard Donnie Nelson say that the Mavs may consider signing Rashard Lewis after he undergoes knee surgery (Twitter link). The team recently voided their one-year, $1.4MM offer after learning that Lewis needed an operation on his right knee.
Price (via Twitter) passes along that Donnie and the rest of the team expect Raymond Felton to have a bounce-back year this season.
Ivan Johnson‘s contract with the Mavs is a two-year arrangement, a source tells Sportando’s Enea Trapani (Twitter link), and both years are partially guaranteed, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. It’s almost certainly a minimum-salary deal, as Chuck Myron explained earlier.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Mavs Sign Ivan Johnson

July 29th, 2014 at 2:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks have signed free agent power forward Ivan Johnson, the team announced via press release. Johnson, 30, was out of the NBA this past season after making his mark in two years with the Hawks, but he hooked on with the Mavs’ summer league team this year, and there had reportedly been mutual optimism that the sides would get a deal done for training camp, if not more. Dallas GM Donnie Nelson said earlier this month that the organization regarded him as “more than just a summer league guy.”

It’ll have to be a minimum-salary arrangement of some kind for Johnson, since the capped-out Mavs are out of exceptions. It’s not immediately clear whether the deal includes any guaranteed salary, or how long it runs.

The Jeremiah Haylett client had reportedly worked out for the Nets, Blazers and Spurs this summer, and he did the same for multiple teams late last season when he returned from having played in China. Johnson chose a more lucrative deal with Zhejiang Chouzhou last year when NBA teams were offering only the minimum, as he told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com recently, but it appears he’s willing to take the minimum to come back to the NBA this time around.

Johnson went undrafted out of Cal State San Bernardino in 2008, and it wasn’t until 2011 that he found himself in an NBA preseason training camp. He took full advantage of the opportunity with the Hawks and became a part of the team’s rotation, averaging 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. The rough-and-tumble inside player was a dominant force in China, where he put up 26.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 32.8 MPG this past season.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Mavericks, Baynes

July 16th, 2014 at 12:40am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here’s what we’ve gathered out of the Southwest Division:

It’s widely suspected around the league that Dan Fegan insisted that the Rockets turn down their team option on Chandler Parsons before he would allow fellow client Dwight Howard to sign in Houston last summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Parsons strongly denied knowing of such a deal, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
On Monday, Parsons told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that he wasn’t thrilled with how the Rockets handled his restricted free agency. “…I was offended by the whole process…(Houston) publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that’s just how they viewed me as a player. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I’m ready for that role.”
Today, Parsons said he was surprised about the backlash he received by making those comments. While he didn’t back off from what he said, Parsons also cited that he praised Rockets GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link from Feigen).
On Monday, Mavericks president Donnie Nelson told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the team may not be done tweaking their roster. “We’re not done…But we feel pretty good about where things are right now.” Following the team’s addition of Rashard Lewis today, Price reminds that Nelson plans to keep one of the team’s final two roster spots open for flexibility down the line (Twitter link).
In the former piece, Price mentions also Al-Farouq Aminu, Bernard James, Shawn Marion, and Ivan Johnson as other names that Dallas could attempt to add before the start of next season.
Nelson sat down for an interview with KESN-FM 103.3 to offer some insight on how the Mavs plan to approach the rest of the season (transcription via SportsDayDFW) and mentioned that the team is always keeping its eye out for a shooter. It’s worth noting that he said this before they added Lewis, however.
While they won’t close the door on re-signing Marion, Nelson acknowledges that the veteran forward’s value in the marketplace is much higher than what the Mavs can afford.
The Spurs still hope to retain restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Young adds that San Antonio is willing to match any reasonable offer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.