Detroit Pistons: What Will Be Stanley Johnson’s Best Position?
As stated before, Stanley Johnson is a curious case for the NBA. Height aside, he is bigger than most wings and quicker than most forwards. It’s the reason many of his NBA comparisons are to retired/past their prime players such as Paul Pierce and Ron Artest (aka Metta World Peace, nka Panda’s Friend).
Some intriguing options to look at would be Jabari Parker of Milwaukee and Orlando’s Tobias Harris.
Coming out of college, Parker and Johnson were practically mirror images of each other, but Parker is much more offensively oriented and does not show near the grit as Johnson on the other end.
Harris was almost identical in size and stylistically to Johnson when he was drafted, though not nearly as heavy, but has since bulked up to just under Johnson’s weight and grown nearly two inches.
As a player who is productive at both forward positions, but not dominant in any facet of the game, NBA general managers had a hard time assessing Harris’ value this past summer. He got paid handsomely, but hesitantly. No one would be surprised to see him traded in the near future, despite his salary. Needless to say, the Pistons are hoping Harris is more Johnson’s floor than ceiling.
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Finally, a less renowned and highly ballyhooed former Arizona pre-draftee who may be on the verge of flaming out of the NBA eerily resembles Johnson’s stature: Derrick Williams.
Williams, who was arguably more productive than Johnson his freshman and sophomore seasons, was drafted to be an offensive force. However, his athleticism has not translated into a clear advantage and his lack of length has obstructed his productivity. He has been given the dreaded “tweener” label, which basically means he has no position in the NBA; he is too small for power forwards and too cumbersome for small forwards. It must be Johnson’s mission to avoid the same fate.
Now, if Johnson can somehow come closer to the production of an NBA Finals MVP (Pierce) or defensive player of the year (Artest) than a non-descript (Harris) or lottery bust (Williams), it will matter more that he is on the floor and less what position he is playing.
Do you agree? Disagree? What do you think Johnson’s best position will be his rookie year and moving forward?