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

What’s Iso Joe’s role?

This question stems from written pondering when news broke that the Pistons were considering Johnson. He could have a significant rotational role if he is impressive at the Pistons practice facility. His veteran presence in the locker room is an added bonus. But how much can he truly impact the play on the court?

Sean McFadden (@seanmmcfadden_): If signed, I imagine Johnson serves as a deep rotation player. He probably doesn’t play every game and mostly fills in for injuries and to provide some scoring when a rotation guard/wing goes cold. If his role is significantly greater than Jose Calderon‘s was last season, it’s probably more so a testament to Detroit’s struggles than to Johnson’s abilities.

Blake Stackpoole (@BlakeStackpoole): If we end up signing him, that spells another season in the G-League for Khyri and Svi. My depth chart would then become
PG: Reggie/Rose/Tim Frazier
SG: Kennard/Johnson/Langston Galloway/Thomas
SF:  Tony Snell/Brown/Beasley/Svi
PF: Griffin/Markieff Morris/Sekou
C: Andre Drummond/Thon Maker/Wood

With one of Wood, Galloway or Svi being dealt or cut to get down to 15 heading into the season.

Spyros Papadakos (@RudonGayward): The main reason why they’d sign him is his locker room presence. If they don’t think Wood will make the cut, then bringing an experienced veteran and a class act in Johnson makes a ton of sense. For a 15th man role, he’ll be valuable, especially in times of adversity. However, at the ripe age of 38, I don’t think he’ll be able to be a part of the regular rotation and I hope he doesn’t get more than 500 minutes.  I’ll be there for the “Iso Joe” memes though. Don’t get me wrong. I love Joe Johnson as much as the next guy but very few 38-year-old players in NBA history were able to keep in form for a whole season.

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Matthew Schwarzentraub (@MatSwrzntrb): If we sign him, he brings veteran experience and leadership. He has played in big games and taken big shots (Big 3 example). He could provide short bursts of scoring or be a solid end-of-the-game contributor.

Eli Bashi (@EliBashiNBA): If the Pistons signed Joe I could see him getting anywhere from 10-20 minutes per game and having most of his minutes in the 4th quarter and finishing games. His clutch gene isn’t something every player has and I feel it could be extremely valuable to this team that lacks shot creators, at the end of close games.

Youssef ElMinyawi (@joeminyawi): As mentioned previously, I believe he would average somewhere in 10-15 minutes per game range. I do not see Detroit heavily relying on him for any production. However, he would be a wildcard to throw in on a night when Casey has exhausted all of his options.

Aaron Kellerstrass (@TheBukShow): I really don’t see how he fits into the rotation. A second unit with Kennard, Rose and Johnson wouldn’t be able to guard anyone. He doesn’t shoot threes well enough to spread the floor for Blake, so he just exacerbates the Pistons’ spacing issues. The only way I see him fitting in is as a power forward in a small ball lineup with Blake at the 5. I get the urge to try and win now, but at some point Detroit needs to develop a draft pick and handing over his minutes to a guy one year younger than Tayshaun Prince is not the way to do it.

David Borowicz (@Dbsterrr): If Johnson gets signed I see him playing an end of the bench role. He won’t get much playing time unless he is forced to.

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