Keon Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Notes: Johnson, Allen, Covington, Powell, Bledsoe

February 7th, 2022 at 9:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rookie shooting guard Keon Johnson said on Monday that he’ll be out at least a couple more weeks due to an ankle injury, Casey Holdahl tweets.

Johnson was acquired by the Trail Blazers in the deal with the Clippers than sent Robert Covington and Norman Powell to L.A. The 21st pick of last year’s draft, Johnson has appeared in 15 games this season. He hasn’t seen action in an NBA game since January 9.

We have more on the Trail Blazers:

The incentive for the Blazers to make the deal with the Clippers was to cut payroll and get under the luxury tax, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes, but there might have been ulterior motive. It could be the first step toward Jody Allen selling the team, Quick speculates. Quick notes that the ground lease for the Moda Center runs through October 2025 and Blazers must notify the city by September 2024 of their intentions to extend or renegotiate the lease. However, there haven’t been any ongoing negotiations.
The fact that the Blazers didn’t get a first-round pick for Powell and Covington shows that offers they received weren’t as strong as anticipated, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. He speculates that the back end of Powell’s five-year contract – he’ll take in $20.5MM in 2025/26 – likely scared some suitors. Additionally, many teams likely wanted to get a pick attached to Covington from Portland, which was eager to get out of the luxury tux.
Eric Bledsoe is unsure if he’ll remain with Portland after the trade deadline, Sean Highkin of the Bleacher Report tweets. He was also part of the deal with the Clippers, added for salary purposes. “It’s up in the air. I’m being professional,” Bledsoe said. “Come in and do my job like I always have, see where it goes.”
In case you missed it, the Knicks are reportedly interested in acquiring CJ McCollum.

Trail Blazers Trade Powell, Covington To Clippers

February 4th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

5:37pm: The trade is now official, Portland announced in a press release.

1:29pm: The Trail Blazers and Clippers have agreed to a trade that will send swingman Norman Powell and forward Robert Covington to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Detroit’s 2025 second-round pick, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

It’s a fascinating move for a Clippers team that is currently missing Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and Paul George (elbow). As we relayed this morning, there’s a belief that Leonard probably won’t return this season, while George’s recovery timeline remains up in the air.

However, there’s little reason for the Clippers to throw in the towel on this season. Despite its modest 27-27 record, the club is firmly in the play-in picture, holding the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Additionally, Los Angeles doesn’t control its own 2022 first-round pick, having sent it to Oklahoma City in the George trade, so there’s no incentive to finish in the lottery.

Powell is a talented scorer and shooter who is averaging a career-high 18.7 PPG in 40 games (33.3 MPG) this season, along with a .406 3PT%. His three-point rate has been at 39.9% or higher in each of the last four seasons. Covington, meanwhile, is more limited on offense and has been inconsistent as a shooter this season (.381 FG%, .343 3PT%), but is a versatile defender with plenty of postseason experience.

Powell, a Southern California native who will reunite with former Toronto teammates Leonard and Serge Ibaka, signed a five-year, $90MM contract with Portland in August, so the Clippers will control him for the long term. Covington will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but L.A. will have his Bird rights, allowing the team to go over the cap to re-sign him.

The Clips already project to be way over the luxury tax line next season, so the club may be reluctant to commit to Covington beyond 2021/22 without moving off another contract, such as Marcus Morris‘. That decision won’t have to be made for at least a few months though. In the meantime, this deal will increase L.A.’s projected tax bill this season by about $19MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The move will also open up a spot on the Clippers’ 15-man roster, potentially allowing them to promote Amir Coffey from his two-way contract. That had been a goal for the team as it approached the deadline, tweets Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

It looks at first glance like a modest return for the Blazers, but they’ll get a chance to take a flier on a young prospect in Johnson and will benefit financially from the move. According to Marks, the deal takes Portland out of tax territory for this season.

Moving off Powell’s long-term money and taking back Bledsoe’s pseudo-expiring contract (only $3.9MM of his $19.4MM salary next season is guaranteed) will give the Blazers more financial flexibility going forward and will create more room in the backcourt for emerging guard Anfernee Simons, who is in the midst of a breakout year and will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.

I wouldn’t expect Bledsoe to be part of the Blazers’ long-term plans, but Winslow could stick around beyond this season. He’s under contract for about $4.1MM in 2022/23. Johnson’s rookie contract runs through 2024/25.

Having parted ways with one of their leading scorers and one of their top defensive players, the Blazers will see their playoff odds for this season dip a little. The team currently holds a play-in spot, but only has a 1.5-game cushion on the 11th-place Pelicans and has an underwhelming record of 21-31.

Portland would send its 2022 first-rounder to Chicago if the pick lands outside of the lottery. Taking a longer-term view, the front office – led by interim general manager Joe Cronin – may actually prefer to miss the playoffs, since it would allow the team to keep that first-rounder and would give Damian Lillard more time to recover from his abdominal surgery — it’s a safe bet Lillard won’t rush back from that injury to join a lottery-bound squad for the home stretch.

It’s unclear what this deal will mean for CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, two of Portland’s other top trade candidates. The club still has six more days to continue making trades, but it wouldn’t be shocking if one or both of those longtime Blazers stays put through the February 10 deadline. McCollum is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, while Nurkic will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Portland will create a $6.5MM trade exception in the deal, tweets Marks.

Clippers Seek Point Guard; Bledsoe, Ibaka, Morris Available

January 31st, 2022 at 5:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers are shopping for a play-making point guard and are willing to move several veterans in order to achieve that goal, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports.

The Clippers believe a starting point guard is the missing piece to become a championship contender when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George return to action, even though it’s uncertain whether they’ll be back this season or next year.

The front office has made Eric Bledsoe, Serge Ibaka, and Marcus Morris available to acquire another floor leader, O’Connor says. The team views current starter Reggie Jackson as more of a scorer than a pure point guard.

Bledsoe is signed through next season but his $19.38MM salary next season is only guaranteed for $3.9MM. Ibaka is making $9.7MM this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Clippers would prefer to hold onto Morris, who is in the second year of a four-year, $64MM contract, but the forward may be their most attractive trade piece.

O’Connor suggests the Clippers would also be willing to part with Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, Jason Preston, Brandon Boston Jr., or Keon Johnson if the right deal came along.

As O’Connor notes, the Clippers have been linked in some fashion to Jalen Brunson, Dennis Schröder, Kemba Walker, Goran Dragic, Spencer Dinwiddie and John Wall in recent weeks. Brunson would seemingly be the best fit, though the Mavericks aren’t inclined to deal him, despite the fact that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Dragic, currently in limbo, might be a good short-term fit. Wall, who hasn’t played this season while the Rockets seek a new home for him, could also be an intriguing possibility. The salaries of Bledsoe, Ibaka and Morris could be matched up to obtain Wall. The Clippers could also simply wait to see if Wall winds up on the buyout market and make a play for him at that point.

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Buss, Clippers, Durant, Green

August 21st, 2021 at 2:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The mantra for the Warriors this coming season appears to be “balance,” writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. According to Johnson, the way the team has re-balanced through its veteran signings and draft class is one of the main things that excites head coach Steve Kerr coming into the season.

“I think this year’s team will offer a much better mix of mentors and veterans to go along with those young guys,” Kerr said on the latest episode of Dubs Talk podcast. “… It’s real exciting to think of the structure of the team and the balance and what we can accomplish.”

After two straight years of missing the playoffs, Kerr says he feels the team is back to a level where it can compete every night, especially once star Klay Thompson returns from his two-year hiatus due to ACL and Achilles injuries.

“It’s really hard to gauge where we are against the rest of the Western Conference,” Kerr said. “Obviously there’s a lot of great teams. We haven’t even had a practice to put the group together. But I’m very excited about the potential.”

We have more news from around the Pacific Division:

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently sat down with Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. In the interview, she describes why the legacy of her father’s Showtime Lakers impels her to build not just a great basketball team, but a stylish one. She talks about why she doesn’t like the play-in tournament, why Kobe Bryant‘s 20-year run with a single team is unlikely to be repeated, and says “our fans are going to be just cuckoo for (Russell Westbrook), are going to be so happy that he’s here.“
The Clippers may not have shaken up their roster in a major way, but Summer League provided some reasons for excitement, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. No. 51 pick Brandon Boston outperformed expectations, knocking down shots and creating off the dribble, No. 33 pick Jason Preston overcame a rough start to show his ability to orchestrate the offense and get into the paint, while hyper-athletic wings Jay Scrubb and Keon Johnson both showcased why they’re intriguing talents while also laying bare the flaws that could keep them off the floor early on.
In a much-discussed interview with Bleacher Report, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green explored the last year of their time together with the Warriors, as well as their infamous blow-up in November of 2018. As Nick Friedell of ESPN explores, Durant and Green blamed head coach Steve Kerr and president of basketball operations Bob Myers for mishandling the response to that dust-up. “Y’all are about to f— this up,” Green said he told the Warriors front office. “I said, ‘The only person that can make this right is me and (Durant). And there is nothing that y’all can do, and y’all are going to f— this up.’ And in my opinion, they f—ed it up.” In response, Durant said, “I think so too.”

Clippers Sign Keon Johnson To Rookie Contract

August 6th, 2021 at 7:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have officially signed first-round pick Keon Johnson to his rookie contract, the team announced today.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Johnson was the No. 21 pick in last Thursday’s draft and was technically selected by the Knicks on behalf of the Clippers. New York and Los Angeles agreed to a draft-night deal that saw the Clips give up a future second-round pick to move up from No. 25 to No. 21 to secure Johnson.

A 6’5″ wing, Johnson spent a single season at Tennessee, averaging 11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG on .449/.271/.703 shooting in 27 games (25.5 MPG).

Back in April, when he declared for the draft, he was listed as the No. 6 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was viewed as a probable lottery pick. However, he remains very raw, especially on the offensive end, and slipped a little as teams in the middle of the first round opted for safer picks.

Unless he signs for less than 120% of his rookie scale amount, which is unlikely, Johnson will earn $2.55MM in 2021/22, as our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows.

Clippers Acquire No. 21 From Knicks, Select Keon Johnson

July 29th, 2021 at 11:59pm CST by Luke Adams

11:59pm: The trade is now official, according to a Knicks press release.

9:23pm: After trading the No. 19 pick to Charlotte, the Knicks have agreed to trade away their No. 21 selection as well, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s going to the Clippers, who have used it to select Tennessee wing Keon Johnson, per Charania.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), New York will receive the No. 25 pick and a future second-rounder from Los Angeles in the deal. That second-round pick will be Detroit’s 2024 selection, Woj adds (via Twitter).

Johnson had been viewed as a potential lottery pick, but some teams had concerns about his medical records, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who notes (via Twitter) that the swingman still has significant upside.

Meanwhile, although Knicks fans may be disappointed that the team traded away one of its first-rounders and moved down four spots with the other, the moves allowed the team to add two extra future draft picks and will create even more cap room for free agency — New York will only have to account for the cap hold for the No. 25 pick now, rather than Nos. 19 and 21.

O’Connor’s Latest: Nuggets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Kings, Hornets

July 27th, 2021 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest mock draft, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer confirms a few items we’ve heard elsewhere in recent days. According to O’Connor, Jalen Green‘s workout with the Pistons last week was “outstanding,” the Jazz are willing to attach the No. 30 pick to Derrick Favors in a potential trade, and league sources widely expect Scottie Barnes to be the Magic‘s pick at No. 5.

O’Connor also reiterates that the Rockets continue to explore moving up to No. 1 and says the Thunder have made efforts to trade up, with Green, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley among their presumed targets.

Here are a few more notes of interest from O’Connor’s latest article:

League sources tell O’Connor that the Nuggets are trying to move up from No. 26 into the top 20, dangling young bench players or future draft assets in those talks.
Although O’Connor confirms that the Grizzlies are interested in Josh Giddey after trading up to No. 10, he says Memphis could try to move up even further, with an eye on Jonathan Kuminga or James Bouknight.
Giddey, Kuminga, and Bouknight could also be in the mix for the Warriors at No. 7, according to O’Connor, who says Giddey is thought to be one of Golden State’s “main targets.” O’Connor adds that Keon Johnson‘s ceiling may be the Warriors’ pick at No. 7.
The Kings continue to be active in shopping the No. 9 pick, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley III in separate trade scenarios, per O’Connor.
League sources continue to connect the Hornets, who will be seeking a center this summer, to Myles Turner, Richaun Holmes, and Nerlens Noel, according to O’Connor.

Draft Notes: Warriors, Hornets, Green Room Invites, Preston

July 16th, 2021 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors brought in some first-round prospects for workouts on Friday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Chris Duarte, Keon Johnson, Corey Kispert, Trey Murphy III, Ziaire Williams and Ayo Dosunmu visited the Warriors’ training facility. Johnson is the highest-rated prospect on the list, as the Tennessee guard is currently ranked No. 9 overall by ESPN.

Gonzaga’s Kispert (No. 13), Virginia’s Murphy (18), Oregon’s Duarte (23), Stanford’s Williams (24) and Illinois’ Dosunmu (34) could all be off the board by the second round. Golden State holds the seventh and 14th overall picks.

We have more draft-related news and tidbits:

The Hornets looked at a handful of prospects on Thursday, the team’s PR department tweets. That group included Jahvon Blair (Georgetown), Tahj Eaddy (USC), Balsa Koprivica (Florida State), Sterling Manley (North Carolina) and M.J. Walker (Florida State).
Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs — the highest-rated prospects — are among the 15 players already invited to Green Room for the draft, which will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Davion Mitchell, James Bouknight, Keon Johnson, Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, Jalen Johnson, Kispert and Moses Moody will also be there. As previously noted, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Kai Jones have received invites. The remaining invites will be determined next week, Givony adds in a separate tweet.
Ohio University guard Jason Preston blogged about the Pistons as a teenager, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes in a feature piece. Edwards details Preston’s journey from a journalism student who wasn’t recruited out of high school to a likely second-round pick. He’s currently slotted at No. 42 on ESPN’s list.

Kings Notes: Haliburton, Draft Workouts, Wagner

July 10th, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton is enjoying his experience with the U.S. Select Team, which is giving him a chance to test his skills against some of the NBA’s best players, writes Jason Jones of The Athletic. Haliburton had previous experience in the international format as part of the USA under-19 National Team while at Iowa State.

Haliburton has fully recovered from the hyperextended left knee that brought an early end to his first NBA season. Although he played just 58 games, he was an All-Rookie First Team selection and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. He has been working out in Sacramento for the past month and now gets to see how his expanded game fares against elite competition.

“For me to get out and use that stuff against other guys and see it work against them in live action, it helps a lot,” Haliburton said. “And just kind of seeing what other guys are working on at the same time, how other guys are improving. Just taking bits and pieces of that, putting that into my training and things like that.”

There’s more from Sacramento:

The Kings, who hold the ninth pick in the draft, have conducted interviews with several projected lottery picks, sources tell Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The list includes Florida State forward Scottie Barnes, Tennessee guard Keon Johnson, Baylor point guard Davion Mitchell and Arkansas guard Moses Moody. The team hasn’t met with a few other players expected to be taken in that range, such as Duke forward Jalen Johnson, Michigan forward Franz Wagner and Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert, but they may be brought in before the July 29 draft. The Kings’ pre-draft workouts are being held privately this year, so all information is second-hand.
Sacramento also has pick No. 39 and has reportedly met with a number of players who could be available in the second round, Anderson adds. Some of the names are Utah Valley center Fardaws Aimaq, Belgian guard Vrenz Bleijenbergh, Texas point guard Matt Coleman, Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, Coastal Carolina point guard DeVante Jones, Loyola Illinois center Cameron Krutwig, Little Rock forward Ruot Monyyong, Virginia guard Trey Murphy, Alabama guard Joshua Primo, Tennessee forward Yves Pons, Texas center Jericho Sims, Austin Peay forward Terry Taylor and Colorado point guard McKinley Wright IV.
A high basketball IQ and the ability to play either forward position make Wagner a good fit for the Kings, writes James Ham of NBC Sports California.

Draft Notes: Executive Roundup, Duarte, Monyyong, Lakers, Mini-Combine

July 10th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a Draft Confidential column for The Athletic, Hall-of-Fame reporter David Aldridge interviews anonymous team executives and college coaches to get their inside scoop on the 2021 draft’s burning questions.

Some of the topics discussed: the Jalen Green versus Jalen Suggs debate, who will be the fourth guard taken after Suggs, Green, and Cade Cunningham are off the board (James Bouknight, Moses Moody, Davion Mitchell, and Keon Johnson are the top candidates), draft promises, some of the late risers (Joshua Primo, Nah’Shon Hyland, Miles McBride, and others), and a whole lot more.

We have more news from the draft:

Former Oregon guard Chris Duarte worked out for the Wizards on Thursday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 24-year-old sharpshooting guard also had workouts scheduled with the Thunder and Pelicans.
Ruot Monyyong had a workout with the Kings on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Monyyong isn’t expected to be drafted, but could be a candidate for a two-way contract or Summer League invitation.
The Lakers worked out six players today, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register: Nah’Shon Hyland, Austin Reaves, Trey Murph y III, Oscar Da Silva, DJ Funderburk, and Chaundee Brown Jr. Hyland and Murphy are projected to be first-round picks, and could be in play for the Lakers with the No. 22 selection.
11 players participated in a mini-combine in Minneapolis, in front of 25 teams, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The participants were: McKinley Wright IV, Jalen Crutcher, Denzel Mahoney, Moses Wright, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Matt Coleman III, Colbey Ross, Jordan Schakel, Matt Mitchell, Brandon Rachal, and M.J. Walker.