Joe Johnson
I’m assuming that you knew Joe Johnson would end up on this list. I mean, after the rampage of clutch and dominant performances he had over the summer in the BIG3, how could he not be here? The former Utah Jazz savior would make this tournament must-see TV — again.
Johnson, the future Hall-of-Famer, proved that he still has some gas left in the tank last summer, catching the interest of some NBA teams. He ended up with the Detroit Pistons for training camp, but was cut in favor of Christian Wood.
As much as I want to see Johnson back in the NBA, it was always considered a pretty easy decision for Detroit. Keeping Wood was the right move, and he’s now one of the best players on their roster.
I get the feeling that Johnson wouldn’t exactly dig the reality-TV portion of this tournament. He’s a fairly quiet guy that keeps to himself and lets his game do the talking. The fans would be tuning to see the man himself single-handedly torch the entire league.
Joe Johnson had some franchise-best moments with the Utah Jazz, like his game-winning floater against the Clippers in the first round of the 2017 Playoffs. We can’t forget about his Game 4 takeover when Gordon Hayward couldn’t return, tying the series up at 2-2.
I’m completely in favor of bringing back Johnson for this tournament, if he chose to participate. He’s a killer on the court and the kind of player that you just never get tired of watching. Let’s enjoy him in the later stages of his playing career.