Indiana Pacers news: Alize Johnson agrees to terms with Raptors

Former Indiana Pacers forward Alize Johnson has a new home.

The Toronto Raptors have agreed to a deal with former Indiana Pacers second-round pick Alize Johnson. Johnson spent two years in Indiana, splitting time with the Pacers and the Mad Ants in the G-League.

Johnson struggled to crack the rotation in Indiana but made the most of his minutes. When he was on the floor with the Pacers, he flashed his talent and ability to grab boards on both ends. As a personal favorite of mine, it is hard to watch Johnson leave before getting a meaningful role with the Pacers but Toronto could provide that chance.

With the Pacers bringing back Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and JaKarr Sampson, playing time seemed unlikely once again for Alize Johnson. Goga Bitadze is expected to get more minutes in his sophomore season, presenting even more of a logjam in the frontcourt that would have blocked Johnson’s minutes.

Alize Johnson still has work to do if he wants to make the final roster in Toronto but it was clear that he was not going to get much more time in Indiana after their moves this offseason. Now, he is given a chance to go elsewhere to an organization that does a great job of developing young players.

Toronto has turned Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet into very good players over the past few years, which gives some hope for what Johnson could become.