Even before the NBA went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tyler Johnson’s 2019-20 wasn’t going according to plan.
It was his second season in Phoenix, though his first full — but he didn’t make it through the end of February with the team. Johnson shot a career-low 38% from the floor and 28.6% from 3-point territory, which led to the Suns waiving him.
The combo guard didn’t find a new home before the hiatus, but now he has an opportunity with the team he almost joined back in 2016: the Brooklyn Nets.
Although Brooklyn’s roster looks a little different than the one everyone saw before the hiatus, it’s a chance for Johnson he should be with the team beyond the Disney bubble — and that he wasn’t himself in Phoenix this year, as he explained to reporters on a Zoom call on Thursday, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post:
Maybe I wasn’t at 100%. I was working through it, trying to get right. But I didn’t have that pop, that bounce I used to have where I’d try to go up over the top of people. Who knows if that played a role in anything. I don’t put any blame anywhere but myself. At the end of the day, I can only control myself.
Obviously, it didn’t work out the way I would’ve wanted. There was a handful of things that could’ve gone better, not necessarily being anybody’s fault. Coming in and having the quick change, it took a long time for everyone to get on the same page. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But fortunately, I’m here. I find myself in a position where I can have a little bit of redemption.