According to reports, restricted free agent guard Tyler Johnson has agreed to sign an offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets. The deal is reportedly worth $50 million over four years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th. After that, the Miami Heat – Johnson’s incumbent team – will have three days to match the offer in order to retain Johnson. If the Heat opt not to match it, then Johnson will become a member of the Nets.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical broke the news on Sunday morning:
Sources on @TheVertical: The Brooklyn Nets will sign Miami restricted free agent Tyler Johnson to $50M offer sheet. https://t.co/Ep4r8CnwMu
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2016
David Aldridge of TNT and NBA.com later added that the deal gives Johnson a player option after the third year:
Nets’ offer sheet to Tyler Johnson—four years, $50M—has a player option after third year, per source. Incredible. https://t.co/JtGXzAwZB2
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 3, 2016
The option makes the contract even more favorable to Johnson, who can enter free agency after the 2018-19 season if he chooses to do so. The deal is certainly structured that way in order to discourage the Heat from matching the offer sheet.
Tyler Johnson Agrees to Offer Sheet with Brooklyn Nets
It is unclear whether or not the Heat plan on matching the offer. The hefty total of $50 million in the contract may come as a surprise, even to people in the Heat organization, as Johnson is rather unproven in the NBA. Johnson has played just 68 regular season games, with just seven starts, in his two seasons in the league. This contract will pay Johnson as much money as restricted free agent guard Jordan Clarkson just signed for over the next four years, despite Clarkson’s far superior NBA resume. The Heat originally signed Johnson during the 2014-15 season. Previously, Johnson had been playing in the NBA Development League.
In his 36 regular season games with Miami last season, Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He would have played in far more games, but a significant shoulder injury sidelined Johnson from the beginning of February until partway through the Heat’s second round series against the Toronto Raptors. Johnson was a reserve for the Heat, playing both guard positions behind starters Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade. If the Heat and Wade can finally come to an agreement to bring back the long-time Miami star, they’ll likely let Johnson go to the Nets.
If the Heat do indeed let Johnson walk, the Nets will be taking a gamble on the 24-year-old. But Brooklyn has nothing to lose, as the Nets have already traded away their future draft picks. They might as well look to re-build their team now, with young players, and Johnson will be a part of that. The agreement with Johnson comes just after the Nets agreed to a deal with point guard Jeremy Lin. Assuming the Heat don’t match the offer, Lin and Johnson will make up Brooklyn’s backcourt of the future.
Check out the LWOS 2016 NBA Free Agency Tracker for all of your NBA free agency coverage, and be sure to follow @LastWordHoops on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest NBA news.
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