Nick

Johnson

Johnson averaged 10.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 34 games with the Austin Spurts of the D-League last year, and is hoping to rebuild his value in training camp."I was just so out of the rhythm” with Denver, Johnson said. “I have to get back in rhythm, but I’m feeling 100 percent now. I feel great. So I just need to get in and find the right situation.” While Johnson will likely land a training camp invite, he can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

After playing in 28 games for the Rockets in 2014-15, Johnson spent last season with the Austin Spurs in the D-League. His performance at the summer league was promising with averages of 14.4 points, 7.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.8 treys, and the good news for Johnson is that the Magic could use some depth in their backcourt with both Jodie Meeks (foot) and C.J. Wilcox (hand) on the shelf.

He spent last season with the Austin Spurs in NBA D-League and attended the Orlando Magic’s training camp. Johnson is still young, so he should get another chance in the NBA.

You may not have even known he was on the team.

Branden Dawson, Nick Johnson, Kevin Murphy, Arinze Onuaku and Damjan Rudez’ training camp contracts also became finalized on Thursday, but none of these guys will be impact players in fantasy hoops this upcoming season.

On the plus side, rookie Montrezl Harrell will make his Summer League debut as Houston tries to defeat Phoenix.

The Rockets will send over a 2016 protected first-round pick to Denver in addition to Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey and Nick Johnson in exchange for Lawson and a 2017 protected second-round selection. Emmanuel Mudiay will now be the starting point guard in Denver, so his value gets a major boost with this news. Patrick Beverley, on the other hand, will likely come off the bench in Houston, so his value takes a pretty big hit with the arrival of Lawson. The Rockets are getting Lawson at a ridiculous discount, and it’ll be interesting to see how James Harden and Lawson can co-exist. He won’t have the ball in his hands quite as much playing alongside Dwight Howard and Harden, so his fantasy value will take a bit of a hit in Houston.

It’s a calf issue and it could keep him out of summer league. Johnson did get some minutes in the postseason at point guard, but he is unlikely to be in the rotation to start the season.

One could argue that Johnson is the most valuable player to come over in the Ty Lawson deal. He’s a combo guard and has looked good at all non-NBA levels. However, Johnson struggled badly with the Rockets last season. He is going to battle with Erick Green for the No. 3 point guard spot.

Johnson will be fighting for minutes with the likes of Will Barton, Randy Foye and Gary Harris in Denver, so it’ll be tough for him to get enough floor time to matter in most leagues.