40 More Games of Wesley Johnson?
Wesley Johnson was drafted ahead of DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George and Greg Monroe. Cousins and George received contract extensions. Monroe will be an unrestricted free agent in 2015 and will, most likely, cash in. But for the second year in a row, Wesley Johnson is playing on a minimum contract with no large payday in sight.
On the surface, Wesley Johnson is the archetype. He has long arms and an impressive vertical leap. He is tall and rangy and can cover large amounts of ground in seconds. He is athletic and explosive around the basket and his dunks are spectacular. His wingspan is impressive. Looks count for something and he looks like a small forward when you see him on the court, preparing to enter the game.
Dec 30, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Wesley Johnson (11) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Lakers won 111-103. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
But, wait long enough and it will inevitably happen, more likely within the first five minutes of Wesley Johnson on the court. He’ll mysteriously turn the ball over. He’ll miss wide open shots. He’ll turn his head to watch the ball and miss his man cutting through the lane. He’ll dribble and the ball ends up bouncing off of his foot and out of bounds. He’ll reach for a rebound and it slips out his fingers and into his opponent’s hands. That, in itself, is bad enough.
The skill part of the position- driving the ball to the rim, scoring, getting to the line- is even more disastrous than his unforced errors.
This is Wesley Johnson’s fifth year in the NBA. He has developed as much as he is going to develop. The NBA learning curve is behind him now. He is a veteran who has played on three teams. He can run the court with grace and ease, and finish at the rim.
Nevertheless, he can’t score consistently and he can’t keep others from scoring when he is guarding them. The absolute worst part of this matrix is it doesn’t matter who is coaching him. Rick Adelman, Mike D’antoni and Byron Scott have all failed when it comes to tapping into Wesley Johnson’s inner genius. It’s safe to conclude there’s nothing much there besides the routine habits of a NBA role player.
Wesley Johnson was a lottery pick which legitimized his talent. His potential was considered limitless. Historically, draft picks in the #1-5 range are expected to become All-Stars. They are the cream of the crop. Wesley Johnson was drafted #4 in 2010. But, every season has been mediocre.
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Another #4 pick was Tyreke Evans. He was drafted the year before Wesley Johnson. All he did was become Rookie of the Year. Russell Westbrook was the #4 pick the year before Tyreke, in 2008. He is a three time All-Star. Three years before Wes Johnson was drafted, Mike Conley was drafted. He was the #4 pick in 2007. He has led his team to the Western Conference Finals.
Wesley Johnson is the worst #4 pick since Tyrus Thomas was drafted in 2006. Thomas was traded on draft night for LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge is an All-Star on a contending team while Thomas is in the D-league trying to make a comeback.
In that sense, Wesley Johnson has been a colossal failure and a cautionary tale for fans and front offices who believe the draft lottery is the end all and be all. Lottery busts are more common than lottery miracles.
Already, Johnson has been on three teams and on all three teams he has been average or worse. If basketball is about trust more than it is about scoring or dunks, then Wesley Johnson has failed to follow through on the promise of his talent.
But, is it talent if it never shows up? Everyone knows: you can’t get blood from a stone.
Dec 25, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Wesley Johnson (11) grabs a rebound during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
When you remember who the Lakers have trotted out at small forward: Metta World Peace and Lamar Odom and Rick Fox, the idea of Wesley Johnson makes you want to scream.
But, for the Lakers, in this swan song of a season where losing on purpose has been disguised as trying to win with mediocre talent, Wesley Johnson is the perfect archetype. He looks good enough to compete but it’s an illusion, as is the Lakers pretense of not wanting to tank.
Wesley Johnson is routinely terrible at so many things, playing him 30 minutes is one of those ends-justifies-the-means strategies. The Lakers are deceptive in that way. It’s organizational suicide for them to own up to what the 76ers are doing even if the results are the same.
Love this season for its lottery possibilities or hate this season, the Lakers refuse to lay it all on the line and call this season what it is. They put a random group of players together who don’t have the skill to compete on a playoff level and then they let the players take the blame for the fall even when players like Wesley Johnson are not at fault.
Wesley Johnson can’t be any better than what he is. He’s not going to shoot higher than 42%. He’s not going to average 10 points a game. He’s not going to average 5 rebounds. He’s not a starting small forward in this league. Asking him to be one is to ask a team to build a house out of sand not rock.
All Johnson can ever become is the funnel for the Lakers misery, the whipping boy for fans who lash out on Twitter.
No one gives him a break. Ronnie Price is given respect for his defense and toughness. Jeremy Lin has Linsanity on his resume. Nick Young is an entertainer. But Wes Johnson is athletic, explosive, he runs the floor, his dunks are monstrous, he looks so gifted but he can’t do much of anything except deceive everyone and fail which he does most nights.
It’s what the Lakers expected all along on their way to a top-5 draft pick and another season lingering in the depths of purgatory. And it is why the fans want Wesley Johnson, the underachiever, traded by the February deadline.