Houston Rockets to sign Nick Johnson
Things certainly have not gone as planned for the Houston Rockets this offseason.
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The Rockets made a huge splash in the 2012 offseason when they acquired guard James Harden in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They somehow topped that move last year when they signed former Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers’ center Dwight Howard as a free agent.
They were hoping to make a similar move this offseason. They looked at Miami Heat forward LeBron James (who, of course, wound up returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers), but quickly made New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony their top target. When Anthony re-signed with the Knicks, they turned their attention to Heat forward Chris Bosh. Bosh, however, re-upped with the Heat. The Rockets wound up signing Washington Wizards’ swingman Trevor Ariza. They then lost forward Chandler Parsons after deciding not to match the three-year, $46 million deal he signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Rockets also cleared out the roster, trading center Omer Asik and point guard Jeremy Lin. They’re now looking for players to fill out their roster. It looks like one of those players will be their second-round pick, former Arizona Wildcats’ guard Nick Johnson.
According to Chris B. Haynes of Comcast Sports Net Northwest, the Rockets will be signing Johnson to a three-year deal.
Rockets like what they've seen in second round pick Nick Johnson out of Arizona and plan to ink him to three-year deal, league source says.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 16, 2014
Johnson put up 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.0 minutes per game last season. He shot 43.2% from the field, 36.7% from beyond the arc and 78.1% from the free throw line. He measured in at 6’3 and 198 lbs. with a wingspan of 6’7.25 at the NBA’s Draft Combine.