Orlando added tough-minded, NBA survivor Anthony Johnson to its roster on Tuesday, but the Magic likely are far from being done tinkering with their point guard position.
Magic general manager Otis Smith said the team still has plenty of interest in adding another point guard behind starter Jameer Nelson and likely ahead of Johnson, a 33-year-old, 11-year veteran.
The agent for Memphis' Javaris Crittenton said on Monday that the Magic have been in trade talks with the Grizzlies about the second-year point guard. NBA teams aren't allowed to comment on the availability of players affiliated with other teams. However, Smith said the Magic could still be in the market for help at point guard.
"We're looking at a thousand things right now,"
he said. "We'll keep looking around and see what makes sense."
When Keyon Dooling, Orlando's top player off the bench the past three seasons, turned down a two-year, $4.2 million contract offer, it made sense for the Magic to sign Johnson to the same deal. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder, is best known for his on-ball defense and veteran savvy. He has played 11 NBA seasons, including 18 games in the 1999-2000 season with the Magic. He split time between the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings last season, averaging 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.
"With our young core we still need some veteran leadership. He's a tough kid at that position and he's not going to back down,"
Smith said. "Anthony, in conjunction with Mickael (Pietrus) and having Tony (Battie) back, I think we've added three pretty tough guys."
With a payroll already near $67 million, the Magic simply were unable to meet Dooling's request for a multi-year contract starting at $3.5 million a season, Smith said. The NBA's luxury tax threshold starts at $71.1 million and the franchise is in no position to pay the dollar-for-dollar tax, Smith stressed.
"There's a way to do this business without being in the (luxury) tax and we've always tried to do that,"
Smith said. "In a perfect world I would have liked to have had more (financial flexibility) for Keyon, but it's not a perfect world."
Johnson has played for eight NBA teams, 10 when counting his three different stints with the Atlanta Hawks. Because he was often used as a sto pgap guard signed to 10-day contracts in the past, he's split four NBA seasons between two teams.
His finest NBA season came in 2005-06 with Indiana when he averaged 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 26.4 minutes a game. He also played exceptionally well in the 2006 playoffs with the Pacers, averaging 20 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in six games. He had a career playoff high of 40 points (16-for-23 shooting, three three-pointers) in 2006 against New Jersey.
Added Smith: "His size, ability to defend his position and toughness were things that we liked. I've always liked Anthony and wanted to figure out a way to get him here."
