Hornets add a Tiger center.
The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have claimed former LSU Tiger Chris Johnson off of waivers. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced. The 26-year old center was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers on Mar. 15.
Born in Washington D.C., Johnson was a member of the NBA Development League’s Dakota Wizards during the 2010-11 season. He appeared in 35 games (34 starts) for the Wizards, averaging 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game en route to being named a 2011 NBA Development League All-Star and the 2010-11 Defensive Player of the Year for the league. He also placed second in the NBA D-League Showcase Dunk Contest during All-Star weekend.
Johnson appeared in 20 games for the Trail Blazers this season. He appeared in 10 games for Portland in 2010-11 after being signed on Mar. 14, 2011. He began his NBA career with the Boston Celtics in 2010-11, appearing in four games for the Celtics.
Johnson (6-11, 210) played four seasons for LSU, averaging 7.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.00 blocks in 88 games. He posted collegiate bests of 7.2 rebounds and 2.71 blocks during his senior season in Baton Rouge in 2008-09. Following his time at LSU, Johnson played overseas in Turkey and Poland before his time in Dakota.
18 responses to “Hornets Claim Chris Johnson Off Waivers”
Trust me, this guy is better than Jeff Foote, at least. At LSU, he and Anthony Randolph made up the skinniest front line I have ever seen.
We pass on Gerald Green but we sign Chris Johnson!
Does claiming him off waivers mean he’s with us all season? Or is this a 10 day type deal?
If a player on waivers is claimed, the new team acquires his existing contract and pays the remainder of his salary. There is also a fee of $1,000, payable to the league office, for claiming a waived player.
https://webfiles.uci.edu/lcoon/cbafaq/salarycap.htm#Q56
He was waived less than 9 days ago, so we picked up his deal. $788,872 annually. This seems like the last year of his deal according to
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/12/2011-12_trail_blazers_chris_johnson.html
Okafor must be out for the season for this team to rotate centers left and right
JSmitty and Landry already return, and we dont need another big man. Hope this deal doesnt mean that we will buyout Kaman soon.
why don’t we sign him after he become a FA? Does his draw other tems’ interest?
Maybe they are tired of the 10 day paperwork?
Also, maybe they will ease Emeka back. 10-days are tied to the number of inactives, so easing him back messes with the whole 10-day mojo.
Not gonna lie, when I saw the headline, I was thinking that the Tennessee Titan running back had entered the NBA. Could use his speed on the fast break sometimes or out in the open court on the wings.
I guess this is good news. You never know if a gem will pop up from the D-League.
Maybe Tebow could be our point guard.
I’d throw myself head-first onto the rail of the suite under my seats, but maybe he could.
Afraid that he’d propel us to a 1st round game 7 victory with a last second assist on a 3-pointer by Bellineli? Followed of course by a crushing 2nd round sweep?
🙂
Drew Brees to the Hornets
Why didnt we sign (or try to sign) JJ Hickson instead? Unless we dont have enough cap space for Hickson, i’m not so sure about this move knowing that we could’ve gotten someone better.
On a side note, what are your thoughts on taking a chance signing Greg Oden sometime in the future?
People sometimes forget that signings have to be mutual. Hickson is going to land with a contender, no way he would want to come here.
With the waiver process, I don’t think there’s a choice. When there are multiple claims, the `worse’ team by some metric `wins’. I think the metric is the current record, though I’m not sure what “current” means. Time of release maybe. Once he clears waivers, that’s another story. He’s on the last year of his contract, so unless team think they can get him for near the min (which maybe is ok since he just got bought out), there’s no reason to let him clear.
Perhaps folks aren’t so big on him.
I agree I would have rathered signed J.J. Hickson. He would have be a nice young athletic PF. Plus when he started 66 of 80 games with the Cavs he had 13.8pts. 8.7Rebs so it proves he is a good young player that can play in the NBA.
Another nobody signed to a team of nobodies
Rough day?