Detroit Pistons roundtable: Yay or nay on signing Joe Johnson?

Joe Johnson worked out for the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and may be close to signing him. Here is what our team thinks of the decision.

It’s a decision met with differing opinions, many split down the aisle on whether or not the Detroit Pistons should sign Joe Johnson.

Johnson, 38, came off a MVP and championship season in the Big3, a 3-on-3 basketball league comprised mostly of former NBA players. It landed him several workouts, including with the Pistons.

Detroit hosted Johnson on Thursday and is reportedly the favorite to land the 17-year NBA veteran and seven-time All-Star.

I polled the Piston Powered writing team on two things – whether or not the Pistons should sign Johnson and, if they do, how they view his role this season. Let’s address the first question first.

Sean McFadden (@seanmmcfadden_): Detroit should look elsewhere to fill out its roster. In his final year in the league, Johnson averaged 6.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 40.6 percent shooting from the field and 27.6 percent from three. That was two years ago. He’s now 38 and two years removed from NBA experience. I’m not really sure that he can add much of anything to Detroit’s roster at this point, aside from a veteran presence.

Blake Stackpoole (@BlakeStackpoole): I feel like we don’t need to sign Joe Johnson personally as I believe we have a good thing going with the current state of our youth. Luke Kennard is improving greatly and others like Bruce Brown, Khyri Thomas, and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk are all having stellar offseason’s from what I’ve seen so in my opinion there’s no need to add a 38-year-old to this roster. I understand he will bring a postseason and championship mentality but realistically the ceiling for this team is a first round playoff series win. Personally, Thabo Sefolosha is my pick for us to sign as a veteran.

Spyros Papadakos (@RudonGayward): I’d be fine either way. I don’t care for Michael Beasley but Christian Wood is an intriguing prospect. There’s only one spot right now and between those two and Joe Johnson I don’t really have strong feelings for any of them. Beasley and Johnson haven’t played legit NBA basketball in a while and Wood has never really stuck with any team. Wood has a real chance of having an actually good season where he’s a part of the rotation if he keeps his head straight. If the Pistons are not confident he can do that, then Johnson would be a better option.

Matthew Schwarzentraub (@MatSwrzntrb): I’m on the fence on signing Joe Johnson. I do not want to see another guy that can’t bring energy when’s he is on the court. At this stage, I lean towards signing young promising players and see how the season progresses. If we were near the trade deadline and believed Joe put us over, sign him yesterday. I’m just not at that point.

Eli Bashi (@EliBashiNBA): I would love for the Pistons to sign Joe Johnson for his veteran presence and the fact that he has shown he can still be big time and clutch. We are pretty thin in terms of talent at the small forward position. Joe is a legit 6-foot-7 guy that can come in and give good shooting and he can give you a bucket if you ever need one, hence his nickname ISO Joe.

Steven Bryant (@steven_bryant1): I would prefer that the team not sign Joe Johnson, but I guess it would depend on who is cut. If it’s at the expense of Christian Wood, absolutely not. I think Wood can provide decent backup minutes at the center position. I know people are super into Iso Joe because he made some big shots in the Big3, but the guy was looking pretty bad his last few seasons in the league. He’s a legend in his own right and I love him, but I’d rather keep that roster spot for someone that can be developed, not Joe Johnson.

Eric Black (@dapizzaroll): I think Joe Johnson is a guy you want on your team if you’re as thin as Detroit is at his position. He’s been used more lately as a small-ball 4 and I think that’s the role the Pistons could fit him in at. Although, I don’t expect him to play more than 70 games, he could be a useful player in the postseason (assuming the Pistons make it).

Youssef ElMinyawi (@joeminyawi): I believe that the Pistons need all the shot creators they can get at the moment. Considering how tight the race is for the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, then a game or two can make or break the Pistons’ playoff seeding. If Iso-Joe can get us a win or two himself, on a night where the main players are absent for one reason or another, then he would be worth a roster spot. However, if he is signed, his main responsibility would be to be a veteran locker room presence. He would be there for leadership on a team that is not known to be experienced.

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Aaron Kellerstrass (@TheBukShow): The Pistons should not sign Joe Johnson. Even if he can still play (doubtful) he’ll only be taking away potential minutes from Sekou Doumbouya and for what? Is Joe Johnson going to make an impact? I’d rather give the minutes to Sekou or Bruce Brown at SF. Also, Detroit already has Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose. Do they really need another player who likes to hold the ball? Another player who can’t spread the floor? Too much potential downside for a guy who will not move the needle. Hard pass.

David Borowicz (@Dbsterrr): I don’t want us to sign Joe Johnson because he is 38 years old. Sure he looks like a stud in the Big3 but that is not the same as the NBA. In the Big3 you only play in the half court and the competition is all either older or not good enough to be in the NBA. Haven’t we learned our lesson from last year with Zaza Pachulia and Jose Calderon? Johnson will not be able to keep up on defense and I doubt that at 38 years old he will be able to make up for that on the offensive end. I would much rather see us keep both Beasley and Wood.

Jon Young (@jonyoungsports): The idea of signing Joe Johnson is definitely newsworthy and it says something about the direction of the Pistons that they are the front runners to sign him. With that being said, I think Detroit should pass on Joe Johnson. I completely understand the excitement around landing a former All-Star, but let’s not let that skew the facts. Johnson is 38. He hasn’t played in the NBA in since 2017-18. He only shot 27 percent from 3-point range that season. People don’t get a second wind in their late 30s. If he proves this wrong, I would happily swallow my words, but it just seems like he would take up a roster spot – and minutes – of a player who could still be on the team two years from now.

A’kiem Gardner (@AkiemLG): This is a tricky questions for me. Joe Johnson is without a doubt an elite three-point shooter. His career averages from behind the arc is 37 percent. In Johnson’s 17-year career he has shot 36 percent or better from beyond the arc 13 times. That’s pretty good and for a team who shoots the three ball more than they make them, he is a need.  But Johnson is 38 years old, fresh off three seasons that were career lows across the board. Iso Joe is fun in the Big3, but in the NBA I’m not so sure. If he signed with Pistons he’ll be forced into the early bench rotation but later fades as the young guys on the team catch up to him.