Damian Lillard didn’t know much about Keon Johnson before the Portland Trail Blazers traded for him last February.
So, the six-time All-Star spent the final two months of the season studying the ultra-athletic Johnson to learn more about the 2021 first-round pick of the LA Clippers.
“Then toward the end of the season, you start to see him make threes and get downhill and you saw his athleticism,” Lillard said.
That earned Lillard’s respect. But he needed to investigate further.
“I think over the summer, when I got to see him even more and get to know him as a person, and then you’re like, “Oh, I see why he’s a first-round pick,’” Lillard said. “You see the talent. You see who he is, as a person. He has that quiet toughness. And he’s also a younger guy that, he’ll go out there and do exactly what you tell him to do.”
Johnson isn’t expected to make a big impact this season with the Blazers, who began training camp Tuesday at the University of California Santa Barbara, but it could be wise to start believing he might someday soon.
Why? Because Lillard isn’t one to blow smoke about a player and he is signaling high praises about the second-year guard out of Tennessee whom many viewed as an inconsequential throw-in during the trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers.
Don’t forget that for three years, Lillard talked highly of Anfernee Simons as he toiled on the bench behind. Late last season, Simons had two fantastic months to prove Lillard correct, prompting the superstar to suggest that he could be a general manager based on his assessment of his new backcourt partner.
This is not to say that Johnson will follow the exact same path. But at the very least he is earning Lillard’s respect and will provide added depth to a team that probably has four shooting guards ahead of Johnson on the roster.
For that reason, it’s tough to say how much Johnson could play this season.
“I don’t know about his role right now,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “But I’ve been very, very, very impressed with Keon. I’ve been proud of him.”
Billups told Johnson after last season what he needed to do to play and, according to the coach, the 6-foot-4 guard has responded, first by elevating his work ethic.
Johnson said he entered the league with the mindset of putting in his work, then going home. He soon learned that he has to put in extra work on his conditioning, skills and body if he wants to succeed.
“Something that I’ve really been working on is just becoming a better professional,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he compiled a list of personal goals to help him become a better player. Having a defensive presence topped the list.
“I knew that defense was going to get me on the court, but I ask myself how can I be different on the defensive end,” he said.
Playing well in that area is a must for Billups, who has said he believes Johnson has the skills to become a quality defender in the NBA. But to play extended minutes, Johnson must also become a consistent offensive threat.
Johnson took just 11 threes for the Clippers, making three (27.3%) in 35 games. With the Blazers, Johnson in 22 games (12 starts) took 89 threes and made 31 (34.8%) but shot just 35.7% overall. He had a seven-game stretch late in the season in which he made 20 of 45 threes (44.4%) but overall hit on just 38.2% of his shots from the field.
Over the final two games, he went 6 of 22 while missing all nine of his threes.
At the very least, Johnson demonstrated that he has the potential to hit open threes, but he clearly must improve offensively.
Helping him on his journey has been Simons, who spent the better part of four seasons on the bench before finally getting his shot to become a full-time starter this season.
“Something for him was staying ready,” Johnson said of Simons. “Same thing with me, just me staying ready. Just because there’s older guys ahead of me in the same position as me, there’ll be a time when my number will be called and I just have to be ready to step up and take that moment.”
Simons will start at shooting guard and will likely be backed up by Josh Hart, Gary Payton II and rookie Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NBA draft.
That’s a lot of bodies for Johnson to leapfrog. But for now, Johnson appears to at least have impressed Lillard in workouts leading up to training camp and after the first couple of days in Santa Barbara.
“He’s picking guys up fullcourt, he’s making open threes, he’s understanding our defensive principles and our offensive principles,” Lillard said. “And he’s able to be effective and find his way in the midst of that and not going outside of it.”
-- Aaron Fentress reported from Santa Barbara, California.
afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter),
@AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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