Omari Johnson was added by the Indiana Pacers for training camp and preseason. Get to know the new guy.
When the Indiana Pacers added Ben Moore in early September, it seemed like the training camp roster was all but set. Between Moore and Elijah Stewart, it seemed like the back end of the group that would be competing for the final roster spot was ironclad. Then, at the last moment, Omari Johnson was added to the training camp roster.
Despite being unforeseeable just a week before training camp, when it was actually time for the roster to be released it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Johnson on it at all. The reason Johnson became an unsurprising addition to the training camp squad was that the Fort Wayne Mad Ants traded for his rights just a few days before:
🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨
— Mad Ants Basketball (@TheMadAnts) September 19, 2018
We have acquired the player rights to Omari Johnson from @MemphisHustle
📰: https://t.co/eBVZkOfwl3 pic.twitter.com/2yPMSwYSlH
I admittedly know little about how G League trades go down or what motivates them. But the Mad Ants traded away Chris Fowler (who didn’t even play in the G League last year) and Jarrod Uthoff (who signed overseas recently) for Johnson (who played four games in the NBA last year). Sounds like a home run to me, especially when you consider that Johnson got a call-up for Pacers training camp. He is helping a pro team already.
Johnson has an interesting NBA story. He is a product of Oregon State University, where he played his college basketball until 2011 when he went undrafted. After college, he went and played in Canada momentarily before heading to Spain for a season, and then back to America for the G League in 2014.
Since then, he has impressed pro teams with his versatile skill set in the minors (and a brief stint in Lithuania). In 143 games (splits between the Maine Red Claws and Memphis Hustle) Johnson has averaged 15.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game. He is an incredibly efficient forward who can stretch the floor and score from multiple areas.
He put up these stats on over 1000 three points attempts, too. It isn’t a fluke. This big guy can shoot.
After showcasing his shooting ability for such a long time, Johnson finally got his chance in the NBA last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. He only amassed 75 minutes of playing time, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a chance to show off his skills, including his aforementioned three-point jumper:
Johnson is only 6’9″, which isn’t huge for a power forward, but he showed some touch around the basket in the pros. He finished 80 percent of his looks from inside of three feet:
Johnson also showed some promise moving the ball. His 14.5 assist percentage was tidy and it made him fit in seamlessly as a team player. This skip pass to Mario Chalmers was about as good as it gets:
Johnson’s four-game season peaked with a 13 point, four rebound and four assist effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He looked like a quality player in that game and set the foundation for himself to possibly get another look with a different NBA team.
And that is exactly what he has with the Indiana Pacers. He is getting a look, and more importantly, he is getting an opportunity.
The Pacers only have 14 guys with a guaranteed contract, meaning there is an open roster spot. Moore, Stewart, and Johnson were expected to be competing for it when training camp started.
But then we learned that CJ Wilcox tore his Achilles and wouldn’t be available for the season anymore, thus opening up a two-way contract slot on the Pacers (probably, we still haven’t heard for sure on this but Wilcox isn’t on the training camp roster). Moore, Stewart, and Wilcox are all eligible for a two-way contract, so it is possible that any one of them could get it.
Omari Johnson does fit Pritchard’s M.O. of shooting and being a stretch four. Even though he hasn’t proven much in the NBA, he has more experience than either of the other two guys. He might have an actual shot to make the final roster. With two open rosters spots, he could do it.
Who knows if Omari Johnson will make the final roster for the Indiana Pacers or not. But his story is pretty cool, and now that you know more about him and how he can contribute, maybe you can root for him to be on the squad once the real season starts.