Former All-Star guard Joe Johnson, who spent last season in the BIG3 league, is headed back to the NBA.
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and Shams Charania of The Athletic, Johnson has agreed to a partially guaranteed one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons. Additionally, Haynes reports, the Pistons will be waiving veteran forward Michael Beasley, who had reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Pistons in early August.
Joe Johnson has agreed to a partially guaranteed one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 12, 2019
Detroit Pistons and @thebig3 star Joe Johnson has reached an agreement on a deal, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 12, 2019
Source confirms. As a reported yesterday, Dwane Casey is a fan. Forget Arn Tellem client, Joe Johnson will provide veteran leadership to a young locker room. https://t.co/xiF7G2fDc2
— Vince_Ells56 (@Vincent_Ellis56) September 12, 2019
Johnson last played in the NBA during the 2017-18 season, splitting that campaign between the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. He averaged 6.8 points per game and shot 40.6% in that season. A six-time All-Star, Johnson was one of the NBA’s top scorers in the late 2000s and early 2010s as a member of the Atlanta Hawks.
Last month, it was reported by Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that Johnson had worked out for the Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets and was drawing interest from the New Orleans Pelicans as well.
Playing for The Triplets in the Big 3, 1-on-1 specialist Johnson — long known as “ISO Joe” — provided a slew of clutch highlights while racking up across-the-board numbers. He scored a league-record 175 points across eight games, also leading the Big 3 in assists (31) and posting top-five totals in rebounds (60; T-3rd) and steals (9; 2nd). He shot 39.0 percent from 3-point range and 48.5 percent overall.
Iso Joe hit a game-winning three to win the #BIG3Championship for the Triplets! 🎯🎯🎯
pic.twitter.com/UmQhPAT2Zc— BIG3 on CBS (@thebig3) September 12, 2019
Johnson’s teams reached the playoffs each season for the final decade of his NBA career (’07-08 through ’17-18) and he is a career 16.1 ppg scorer (44.1 FG%, 37.1 3P%).
