Mavericks acquire forward James Johnson in three-team trade
The following is a press release from the Dallas Mavericks:
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired forward James Johnson from Oklahoma City in a three-team trade. In the deal, the Mavericks sent guard Delon Wright to Detroit and forward Justin Jackson to the Thunder. The Pistons dealt forward Trevor Ariza to Oklahoma City. The Thunder acquired a 2023 second round pick (best from either Dallas or Miami) and a 2026 second round draft pick from Dallas.
Johnson (6-7, 240) is an 11-year veteran with career averages of 8.0 points (.477 FG%), 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.9 blocks and 20.6 minutes in 634 games (220 starts) with Chicago, Toronto, Sacramento, Memphis, Miami and Minnesota. He appeared in 32 games (one start) for the Heat and Timberwolves in 2019-20 and averaged 8.4 points, 3.7 boards, 2.3 assists and 1.0 block in 19.3 minutes. Johnson was acquired by Oklahoma City on Nov. 20 in a three-team trade involving Minnesota and New York.
The 33-year-old enjoyed some of his best statistical seasons as a member of the Heat from 2017-20, where he was a teammate of newly acquired Maverick Josh Ricardson. In his first season with Miami, Johnson appeared in a career-high 76 games (five starts) and averaged a career-best 12.8 points, a career-high 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.1 blocks in a career-high 27.4 minutes.
Johnson was selected after his sophomore season by Chicago in the first round (16th overall pick) of the 2009 NBA Draft. He garnered Third Team All-ACC honors in each of his two seasons at Wake Forest (2008, 2009) and was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team his first year in Winston-Salem.
Jackson (6-7, 220) was acquired by Dallas in the deal that sent Harrison Barnes to Sacramento on Feb. 7, 2019. He appeared in 94 games (14 starts) for the Mavericks over the past season-and-a-half, averaging 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 16.8 minutes.
Wright (6-5, 185) was acquired by Dallas in July 2019 and appeared in 73 games (five starts) for the Mavericks this past season. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 21.5 minutes in 2019-20.
