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SALT LAKE CITY — As one of the more fluid draft classes in recent years continues to see frequent player movement within expert consensus, one of those potentially dipping into the Utah Jazz’s range is former Arizona standout Stanley Johnson.
Johnson, something of a do-it-all swingman for a Wildcats team that reached the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament during his only year at school, shows similar potential at the NBA level if he develops well.
Johnson has good size, at 6-foot-6.5, with a wide wingspan recorded at 6-foot-11.5 at last month’s combine. He’s one of the more physically impressive prospects in the class, at 242 pounds with a strong, muscular frame. He doesn’t leap out of the gym vertically, but has excellent lateral mobility and a sneaky-quick first step that will befuddle slower defenders.
He would fit in splendidly with the Jazz’s growing defense-first culture. Johnson has a number of elite-level physical tools available on this end of the floor, along with drive and solid basketball IQ. His sculpted frame and good wingspan should make him capable of defending all but the very biggest power forwards, a huge plus in the modern NBA where downsizing at the four-spot in favor of shooting and spacing is in vogue. He’s also a strong enough rebounder to play big minutes in this role if necessary, gobbling up a healthy number on a per-minute basis at the college level.
Johnson could be a real weapon for the Jazz if deployed in this manner should he check some of the right boxes offensively. The key factor here would be his shooting, which developed in a major way from his pre-college days during his year at Arizona. He shot over 37 percent from the college 3-point line last year on a reasonable number of attempts, and flashed major improvements in his form. If this isn’t a one-year mirage and Johnson can convert at this rate or better in the NBA, his prospects as a proverbial “stretch-four” are quite good.
From a Jazz perspective, he’d need some improvements in a couple other areas to fully fit, even in his college position of small forward. He’s a good ball-handler, but far from a great one, and may need to develop a bit more versatility here to be a full-time contributor in coach Quin Snyder’s motion system — one that emphasizes handling and drive-and-kick skills from the perimeter. His passing and decision-making could use some work on this end as well, with a 2.3 assists per-40-minutes rate failing to impress much. Some of this could trace back to team scheme, to be sure.
The Jazz have long been exceptionally conscious of attitude and related intangibles during the pre-draft process, and Johnson is a mixed bag in this regard. His competitive fire was on full display often, and when he was locked in, he was among the nation’s most intense and overwhelming defenders. But scouts at every level have reported a bit of a tendency to take plays off at times, perhaps saving his energy for the other end.
And when he had the ball in his hands, the same scouts noted a habit of perhaps overplaying his hand, attempting to showcase his individual skills over committing fully to the team scheme. His shot selection was downright ugly at times, and he’d frequently look past the obvious team play to attempt something flashier on his own.
This sort of thing won’t fly in Salt Lake City. It’s possible Johnson was overly concerned with his draft stock, but the Jazz won’t take a flier on a guy if they’re anything but 100 percent convinced he can fit within their system and accept his role — even if said role is a complementary one for as long as necessary.
If he checks out from this standpoint, Johnson could be an intriguing fit. He’d mesh well with the lengthy and versatile crew the Jazz have put together on the perimeter, and could allow them to downsize and improve their spacing for periods with his ability to play power forward. Mark Stanley Johnson as yet another interesting name on the Jazz’s 2015 draft list.
