Sixers: How do JJ Redick and Amir Johnson fit?
By James Wicker
The Philadelphia 76ers wasted no time in free agency, with two new signings in the form of JJ Redick and Amir Johnson announced today on one-year deals.
Your Philadelphia 76ers just got ALOT better today, y’all. Before free agency began, there were about two or three clear-cut needs for this team, and two were certainly addressed today. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers have come to terms on one-year agreements with guard JJ Redick and forward Amir Johnson. That leads to the question, what kinds of fits are these players for this young team?
For starters, the JJ Redick deal should make you excited if you’re a 76ers fan. The main thing that needed to be avoided in any deal was to get bogged down to a long-term deal, and Bryan Colangelo did fantastically to avoid that. Redick will be miles ahead of an Sixer salary-wise next season, but when it’s only a one-year deal, the risk is almost nonexistent for the Sixers. The money needed to be spent in some fashion, and to get likely the best shooter on the market when that’s your biggest need is superb business from the GM.
Most would have agreed the biggest need was a shooter, but an addition like Amir Johnson is an asset to any team. According to Celticsblog.com, teams Johnson has been on have had a positive net rating with him on the court in 11 of his 12 NBA seasons.
More from Philadelphia 76ers
- 3 Reasons the 76ers Should Poach Blake Griffin From the Celtics
- 3 Most Overpaid 76ers Heading Into the 2023 Season
- Ranking Daryl Morey’s 3 Biggest Mistakes with 76ers
- 3 Teams Crazy Enough to Trade for James Harden
- James Harden Putting Career in Jeopardy With Holdout Threat
In short, that means that Johnson’s teams have scored more per 100 possessions than they have allowed, something that certainly isn’t just coincidence. Johnson is a tenacious big man that won’t be outworked, and he’s also outstanding at setting screens and giving overall hustle on the defensive end. He’s admittedly not great offensively, but this team won’t need much from him on that end.
So, where do these guys fit into the rotation come opening night?
When talking about Redick, there’s no doubt we have our immediate starter at the two-guard position. Redick represents probably the best shooting guard this team has had since Andre Iguodala, and certainly the best shooter this team has had in recent memory. Given the money given to Redick, it’s fair to expect him to lead this team in minutes played all season if he stays healthy.
He will be the veteran presence on the team that Gerald Henderson played last year, except he’s about a million times the player (Sorry, Gerald). Not only is Redick an exceptional shooter, but he’s very tough defensively, and has been known around the league as a guy with extremely high character. With a team that’s average age will be floating around 25-26 on opening night, Redick is almost priceless to have in the locker room.
As stated, Johnson is just as good of a guy to have on the roster. He will be good for 20-25 minutes a night on this team, and will give you exactly what was talked about above. Given the discomfort some have with Joel Embiid‘s nagging injuries, having a guy like Johnson in your ranks is ideal considering he can play the four and even the five if you’re playing small ball. He’s only 6’10”, but plays like he’s got a couple more inches on him. On a one-year, $11 million deal, Johnson poses almost zero risk for the 76ers.
With the Redick signing, the starting lineup opening night is all but confirmed at this point. We are very likely looking at Fultz, Redick, Covington, Simmons and Embiid as your starters. This gives the starting lineup a perfect combination of good shooting, explosive slashers, tenacious defensive players, and above average facilitators. The question most are probably asking at this point is who is coming off the bench as our 6-11 guys? As of right now, my perception is as follows:
This bench will give a very solid distribution of insurance behind Joel Embiid, some shooting, and some players that can give matchup nightmares depending how they are paired with the starters. At this point, it’s tough to give the likes of Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas, and TJ McConnell minutes given the current roster set-up. Of those three, McConnell is most likely to crack the rotation regularly.
Next: Sixers looking for one-year deals may make for a subtle free agency
As most of this offseason has been so far, this has been a huge step in the right direction for the 76ers. They avoided getting bogged down with lengthy expensive contracts, and focused on signing proven veterans on short-term, low risk deals. When you have as young of a roster as this team has, these are the types of players you need to take that next step. Time will tell if these signings are enough to get us over the hump, but there’s no doubt there’s some serious promise with this roster.