To match salaries, the Minnesota Timberwolves are sending forward James Johnson to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Ricky Rubio trade, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
During the draft on Wednesday, the Thunder traded Rubio, the 25th pick and the 28th pick to the T-Wolves for Johnson and the No. 17 pick, which Oklahoma City used on Aleksej Pokusevski.
Johnson is opting into his $15.8 million deal for the 2020-21 season, according to Charania.
He was traded from the Miami Heat to the Timberwolves last season as part of the salary swapping that allowed Miami to acquire Andre Iguodala. In Johnson’s 14 games with Minnesota, he bumped up to the center position and averaged 12 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 37% from 3, which would have been by far the best percentage of his career if it was a full season.
Johnson is known as one of the toughest players in the league. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, he is able to play the forward positions and center.
Minnesota is trading James Johnson to Oklahoma City as part of the Ricky Rubio trade, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/P0P0EuvqRW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 19, 2020
With his salary, it’s unclear if Oklahoma City could trade him. In the past Johnson has been linked to trade rumors because his salary can help match a contracts if his own team was moving a cheaper player — similar to what happened here, though he is paid roughly a million less than Rubio — but it’s unlikely that the Thunder will be pursing a different highly paid player and need Johnson to match it.
It’s useless to speculate about where he’d fit into the roster because almost the entirety of Oklahoma City’s team could change between now and the beginning of next season, but it makes sense that he would be a backup forward and big option if the Thunder do not waive or trade him.
Johnson’s contract expires after this season, so he is not a long-term commitment for Oklahoma City.
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