Pelicans: Why the Pels should definitely re-sign James Johnson
New Orleans Pelicans: James Johnson helps the defense
James Johnson is a good defender who helps the Pelicans’ overall team defense. Even though the Pelicans only finished 23rd overall in defensive rating, they showed some signs of life after they swapped one JJ for another.
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The Pels’ defensive rating improved nearly two points in April after the trade and again in May to 112.4, lowest it had been since December when the Pelicans came out strong defensively but only played five games.
Some of this is because of Johnson but some has to be attributed to getting rid of Redick and Nicolo Melli, who were the two worst defenders on the team.
The Pelicans obviously can’t count on James Johnson to be a go-to offensive player or a guy who plays a ton of minutes, but he brings defense and toughness, two things that the Pels lack, and there is evidence his influence was helping.
Johnson won’t be one of the marquee names you hear about this offseason, but he is a solid veteran who checks a lot of boxes for what the Pelicans need this offseason.
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