The Nets officially announced the layoff of James Johnson, which is quite surprising! After all, the playoffs are infinitely close to the start, and cutting James Johnson at this time is too ruthless. After being cut, even if a team wants to sign James Johnson, he is no longer eligible to play in the playoffs with the team.
For James Johnson, this cut means that after nearly a season with the team, he is not only unable to follow the team to launch an attack on the championship, but also faces unemployment and ends the season early.
If the Nets can win the championship this season, James Johnson can also get a championship ring, but obviously, playing with the team to the top and getting a gift after being abandoned halfway through the way is completely different. What's more, the nets' current situation and the hope of winning the championship are also very slim.
Many people are puzzled by the Nets' sudden laymanship, but the management is also helpless, because they need to make room for another young player.
The Nets cut James Johnson to turn rookie Edwards, a young man who has had a lot of opportunities this season and a brilliant performance on the defensive end, and has become an important player under Nash's rotation, as well as a role helper that the Nets can rely on on on the front.
Previously, his contract was a two-way contract, the Nets need to regularize him before he can play in the playoffs, and the Nets are currently full of official quotas, and if you want to regularize Edwards, you have to cut another official contract player.
Looking at the Nets' current roster, when management has to swing a big knife, I am afraid that only James Johnson's contract can be abandoned.
Among the players the Nets can play at the moment, Durant, Irving, Curry Jr., Drummond, Brown, Mills, Ade, Clarkston, Dragic, these people are unlikely to be cut. Although Griffin has been marginalized, he has been with the Nets longer than James Johnson, and he gave up other options in order to join the Big Three to win the championship, so it is reasonable that management cannot lay him off. Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, who can't play, can't be cut, and all that's left is that Thomas and Sharp, who are in their first year on rookie contracts, can't be cut, and can't be cut.
When such a big list is in front of the management, it is naturally not surprising that James Johnson eventually became the person who was abandoned. Because apart from him, the management may not be able to find a second more suitable candidate.
Although this layoff allowed them to successfully correct Edwards and gave him the qualification to playoffs, it is clear that the already weak front line is less james Johnson, which will undoubtedly make the Nets face greater challenges in the playoff confrontation.
James Johnson is a defensive player in the front, and although his performance at the Nets this season is not amazing, it has also had many highlights. And his defense on the front line can also reduce Durant's pressure very well, and his experience is far higher than that of rookie Edwards.
In the absence of James Johnson's help in front defense, the Nets' already fragile defense will undoubtedly become more difficult under the high-intensity confrontation of the playoffs. Therefore, cutting him at this time will obviously lay a big hidden danger for the Nets' playoff journey.