Almost just as I was saying that the Chicago Bulls were making a mistake by focusing on signing a small forward instead of addressing the need at the power forward position, the news these fans needed came down. The Bulls definitely had a busy day to round out the long holiday weekend by signing “Johnson & Johnson” to add depth at two forward positions.
The two Johnsons that the Bulls signed on Sep. 6 included the former Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons small forward Stanley Johnson and former Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets power forward Alize Johnson. The first of the two signings was the former lottery pick and 25-year-old wing Stanley.
The signing of Stanley was a move that didn’t inspire much confidence in the move from the front office out of me. But it only took a few hours for the news to come down that the Bulls were signing the recently released former Nets big man Alize.
Free agent F Alize Johnson has agreed on a two-year, $3.6M deal with the Chicago Bulls, his agent @GeorgeLangberg tells ESPN. The Bulls had a need for power forward depth and roster offers some real opportunity for Johnson.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 6, 2021
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed on his Twitter timeline on the late afternoon of Sep. 6 that the Bulls had signed Alize down to a two-year contract worth a total of around $3.6 million. That is a tremendous value for the Bulls to get a rising young power forward in the rotation like Alize.
Alize Johnson fills a valuable role that the Chicago Bulls needed ahead of next season
This also makes the need for head coach Billy Donovan to play either Stanley or fellow small forwards Derrick Jones Jr. and Troy Brown Jr. in critical minutes off the bench at the four. The Bulls can work in some minutes for that trio of small forwards at the four in small ball lineups. But the best fit for someone to fill the role of backup power forward heading into next season should fall to Alize.
The main reason why the Bulls were able to sign Alize in the first place was the fact that the Nets signed a pair of veteran power forwards and needed to make room on the roster. Brooklyn signed the duo of Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge, who looked to be pursued by the Bulls at one time before joining the Nets.
The 6-foot-7 and 215-pound Johnson is someone that can really make an underrated impact for the Bulls. He has made some significant strides in his game in the last couple of seasons.
Johnson is a really good rebounder, workable inside scorer, and has improving court vision. Last season with the Nets, he averaged a whopping 17.9 points per 36 minutes, 17.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. And he shot 58.8 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from beyond the arc, and hit on all of his 13 attempts from the free-throw line.
Down the stretch last season, Johnson got to play in 18 regular season games with the Nets. He also played in five playoff games with the Nets where he tallied up eight total points, 13 rebounds, no assists, three steals, and no blocks.
He played most of his minutes at the four with the Nets last season but did get around 39 percent of his time on the floor at the three. That was about the same positional split that Johnson had during his two seasons with the Pacers to start off his NBA career.
Johnson isn’t likely to get many minutes at the three, though, with the Bulls having depth in that spot of the rotation heading into next season. Meanwhile, the Bulls don’t have any other true options to play at the four without altering some other positions for someone like Jones or center Marko Simonovic, among others.
Moreover, some of the tremendous strides that Johnson took in his game last season with the Nets were highlighted in the advanced metrics. He registered a career-best 2.6 box plus/minus, .227 win shares per 48 minutes, and a 23.5 player efficiency rating.
More specifically, Johnson posted a career-best 26.3 rebounding percentage, 10.9 assist percentage, and a decent 2.3 block percentage.
Johnson can be a monster on the boards for the Bulls. He really makes an impact on the game on the offensive glass, where he averaged more than five per 36 minutes last season. And the 16.6 offensive rebounding percentage from last season is a tremendous mark that is also a career-high.
It will be interesting to see how the Bulls can help facilitate the development of Johnson’s game. He increased his number of steals and blocks per game last season. But he likely won’t be the primary rim protector in the second unit for the Bulls with the likes of Simonovic and Tony Bradley taking up minutes at the five.
Johnson can be used in a switchable role as he’s capable of defending really any position from the two to the five. He’s by no means an elite athlete, but he has a decent wingspan around 6-foot-9 with a respectable vertical leap. That allows him to at least contend on defense with most big men around the NBA.
It’s just the raw effort that Johnson brings to the table that allows him to dominate on the glass. He’s got more of that Dennis Rodman-style rebounding effort and timing that allows him to post some elite efficiency in his numbers on the glass.
Granted, I’m not saying that he’s ever going to post the same level of stats as someone like the Hall-of-Famer Rodman.
All in all, this is a solid signing for the Bulls that should be able to make an immediate impact on the second unit. The Bulls needed to fill this reserve role at the four, and they got a tremendous value signing in the former Net and Pacer Johnson.
There is now only one roster spot open ahead of the start of Training Camp later this month. And that one remaining roster spot is with a two-way contract. The other two-way contract slot at the moment for the Bulls is held by second-year point guard Devon Dotson.