Indiana Pacers officially waive guard Orlando Johnson
By Brad Rowland
Lost in the fallout of the highly publicized trade that sent Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Evan Turner/Lavoy Allen combo to the Indiana Pacers was that it created the need for the East’s best team to open up a roster spot. They did so with the release of one of their stockpile of guards.
#Pacers have also waived Orlando Johnson. “Orlando is a great kid,” said Larry Bird. “We hope he has a long and successful career.”
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 21, 2014
Indiana’s release of former 2nd-round pick Orlando Johnson doesn’t come as a shock, simply because of the logistics, but Johnson has been a valuable cog at times. After appearing in 51 games last season in Indiana (averaging 4.0 points per game in 12.1 minutes), the 24-year-old shooting guard saw a decrease in time this season after CJ Watson and others were brought to town, but he was usually solid when called upon for duty with the Pacers.
It is tough to set a market for someone like Johnson in the post-deadline world, but in the NBA, there are always injuries and/or other circumstances that force teams to the waiver wire, and a guy like Johnson should be able to hang around the league for a long time.