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The Boston Celtics are bringing in a familiar face to fill the roster. Iso Joe Johnson is signing a 10-day contract with the Celtics, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson, 40, hasn’t played in the NBA since 2018 with the Houston Rockets. The 7-time All-Star returns to the NBA after three years off. The Celtics drafted Johnson with the 10th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.
Free agent guard Joe Johnson is signing a 10-day deal with the Boston Celtics, sources tell ESPN. Johnson is returning to the franchise that drafted him 20 years ago and is expected to play tonight vs. Cleveland.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 22, 2021
Johnson was once one of the best scorers in the NBA during a stretch from 2005-2010, his best seasons all coming while playing for the Atlanta Hawks. There’s a connection there. Al Horford was a long-time teammate of Johnson’s and is currently out for Boston while in health and safety protocols.
Along with Horford, the Celtics have Grant Williams, Jabari Parker, Brodric Thomas, Josh Richardson and Juancho Hernangomez all in COVID protocols. So the roster is pretty thin all around. It’s odds Johnson has been brought in since most of the Celtics guards are fine. Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Dennis Schroder, Payton Pritchard and Romeo Langford are all out of protocols.
Does Johnson have any fantasy value? That’s still to be seen. He’ll be fun to play in NBA DFS this week if he does see the court. Who doesn’t like rooting for Johnson to hog the ball for 8 minutes, chucking up contested jumpers?