Dallas Mavericks sign Ivan Johnson
Former Atlanta Hawks’ big man Ivan Johnson spent last season playing for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association. After starting his career with stints in the NBA’s Developmental League and in South Korea, it looked like Johnson may have finally found a home in the NBA after signing with the Hawks in 2011. However, after two seasons, he left for China.
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Johnson has been plotting a comeback and played in the Las Vegas Pro Summer League with the Dallas Mavericks, where has regained some of his notoriety by being ejected for yelling profanity at an official. Johnson had some flashes in the summer league, which ultimately helped him earn a deal with the Mavericks.
The Mavericks officially announced the signing via a press release.
"The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forward Ivan Johnson. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.Johnson (6-8, 255) started all five games for the Mavericks at the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 20.8 minutes per game.Johnson spent the 2013-14 season playing for the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls in China, where he averaged 26.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.9 steals and 32.8 minutes per game in 24 games."
Johnson played both the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons with the Hawks and became a key contributor for a team that consistently made the postseason. Johnson averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting 51.3% from the field, 33.3% from three and 72.0% from the free throw line in his first season with the Hawks and 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game while shooting 52.0% from the floor, .77% from beyond the arc and 61.8% from the charity stripe in his second season.