Ivan Johnson played two NBA seasons with the Atlanta Hawks in 2012 and 2013, before the 28-year old found himself out of the league after accepting a deal to play in china last season.
Johnson caught on with the Mavericks for Summer League, though, and still has hopes of once again returning to an NBA roster.
Now with the D-League’s Texas Legends, however, Johnson’s fiery attitude has cost him a one-game suspension.
The official release:The NBA Development League today announced that Texas Legends forward Ivan Johnson has been suspended for one game for making contact with a referee during a Dec. 9 game at the Austin Spurs.
The incident occurred with 3:54 remaining in the second quarter of the game and resulted in Johnson being issued a technical foul.
This isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, obviously, and if Johnson shows a certain level of consistent ability on the court, teams may indeed give him a legitimate look.
But the strong personality that has helped him succeed in basketball is also what’s currently keeping him out of the NBA, and an incident like this, while relatively minor, unfortunately won’t go unnoticed by those who make the decisions.
Johnson explained his mentality on the court in a candid (and awesome) interview with Basketball Insiders over the summer.