The Houston Rockets could be adding another shooting guard to the roster.
As NBA play resumption approaches, the Rockets are considering signing Tyler Johnson, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Johnson last played for the Phoenix Suns. After serving as a sixth man and secondary ballhandler off the bench, he began to bounce in and out of the rotation before being waived in February.
In 31 games this season, Johnson averaged a career-low 16.6 minutes and 5.7 points on 38% shooting from the field and 28.9% from deep.
He joined the Suns in February 2019 and initially provided a boost, often taking lead ballhandling duties on a team whose primary point guards were rookies who had been second-round draft picks.
An injury limited Johnson to only 13 games with the Suns that season.
In 2019-20, with a revamped Suns roster, Johnson fell out of the rotation when he wasn’t producing consistently.
With a $19.25 million contract in the final year of his 2016 extension with the Miami Heat, Johnson was not picked up off waivers. He has been a free agent since.
If the Rockets do sign Johnson, they hope he will be more like his 2016-19 form when he averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 36.2% from deep over those three seasons.
He’s a career 35.8% 3-point shooter, which suggests this season may have been more of a blip than a new norm.
Johnson would serve as depth off the bench. If his outside shooting is improved, he would serve as an offensive option and another ball handler, but his lack of defense and consistency could keep him out of meaningful minutes.
The NBA season is scheduled to resume play on July 31. Twenty-two teams will play eight games and then the playoffs will begin.
