DetroitBadBoys.com has worn thin with me.

Here's Johnson's scouting report from ESPN.com:

2006-07 season: Johnson wins the title of Best Prospect Nobody Has Seen Play. Johnson hardly got on the court for the Pistons, but put up some monstrous numbers in the D-League. In 22 games for Sioux Falls, he averaged 18.3 points, 9.7 boards, and 3.1 blocks while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. He opened eyes in the final game of the regular season when he had 20 points and 12 rebounds against Boston.

His career numbers are really strong, too: In 164 NBA minutes he's shot 58.1 percent from the floor, blocked 15 shots and made 15 of 18 attempts from the line. Only Alonzo Mourning had a better rate of blocks per minute last year. He's still only 20 years old, as he turned pro directly out of high school and was a second-round pick by Detroit in 2005.

Scouting report: A diamond in the rough by all accounts, Johnson is still listed at 6-9 but reportedly has grown since turning pro and now is closer to 6-11. He still needs to add muscle to go with his length, but his numbers from the D-League and his limited pro action indicate his tremendous potential both as a shot-blocker and a finisher around the basket.

Unusually for a player of this type, it also appears he can shoot a little -- at the very least he'll make his foul shots. One red flag from the D-League was that he made over three turnovers a game; he'll have to cut that considerably to break into Detroit's rotation.

2007-08 outlook: Johnson signed a three-year, $11 million deal to stay with Detroit, and he could be a wild card who allows the Pistons to stay on top of the Central Division. Suffice it to say he won't be riding buses around South Dakota this year -- he's no longer eligible, actually, as a third-year player. With Chris Webber and Dale Davis departing, the plan is to plug Johnson in to the frontcourt rotation and see if his athleticism can help energize the Pistons' second unit.

I agree. Good prospect. The kid's young. His major trouble right now will be when to foul (he fouls a lot) and how to move better with the ball (I imagine he's pretty dupe-able with regard to flops and traps, and outside-8-feet shot selection).

Amir's making 3.6 million over three seasons, I believe, including this season. This is a cheaper number on 'potential,' which is one of my least favorite words in sport.

Let me tell you an aside about 'potential.' I had the potential to not mention this kid, but I failed. You had the potential to skip this piece, but you're reading this far, so you failed. The Dallas Cowboys had the potential to ride the wave of NFC dominance (aka being branch manager of Dunder-Mifflin) and had a crack at yet another Super Bowl championship (pissing in wind's chance of not getting wet), but they failed. The Detroit Pistons had the potential to be the definitive dynasty of the first decade of this new century (close call in 2005 NBA Finals, humiliation against Miami in ECF 2006, humiliation against Cleveland in ECF 2007, chances of winning in 08 and 09 very low), but they failed.

Cynical much?

Why yes, I'll have another glass of Shut You the Fuck Up.

Here's the deal.

I take this manifesto to anyone that will listen.

If Detroit wants to have a storybook ending with being the last team standing, then Detroit gives the minutes to Jason, not Amir.

I don't like Flip Saunders, but even Flip realizes his team has gotta win. Now.

For the sake of Detroit's club, with regard to their place in NBA history, for any shot of being remembered other than a NBA version of the 1990s Buffalo Bills, with exception to getting lucky over the course of two crazy months in 2004, well, Detroit fans must realize that Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess are 33, Chauncey Billups is 31, Richard Hamilton is almost 30, and Tayshaun Prince is almost freaking 28. The window with these guys, especially the big guys, is short.

Amir can work on his game, specifically his jump shot, during this summer, not during the middle of a heated race and an outside shot at adding another championship banner.

Are there alternatives, you ask? I can think of one off the top of my fist. The alternative is to move a big man by the trade deadline and roll the dice with more minutes for Amir out of the 4. That means Rasheed or Antonio would have to go, and you'd have to hopefully find a true center in return, make the salaries match (the Pistons are over the soft salary cap and must follow those contract-dollar-matching rules). But first, let me remove some of the pressure from my foot on your neck.

The reality of Detroit's chances reside squarely on the health of Rasheed Wallace. If he becomes injured, the interior defense goes to shit this year, and there is absolutely no chance of getting lucky in every round and pulling off a championship. Because when Kevin Garnett gets somewhat-contained against Detroit in their last meeting, but Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, and Scot Pollard combine for 29 points out of the center position, uh, well, something is currently wrong with your interior defensive scheme.

However, contrary to bullshit popular belief, Amir is not a guard, and he's not taking Tayshaun's spot, considering uh. . .

*84 percent of Amir's shots, to date, happen inside
*Of his 16 percent of jump shots, 22 percent are blocked
*Of his 16 percent of jump shots, eFG of .222 is frigging terrible

That's a shame, too, because Amir's about the same frame as Tayshaun. So we already got one of those guys, too, and he can hit the jump shots. I mean, there are guys on the roster already, like Hermann, Brezec, and Johnson, who basically can spell an untimely injury to not Rasheed . . . but Antonio. Although, my faith in Flip's sizing of right players to sub and careful time-outs is, well, nil. But that's another story for anyone else. I prefer brevity on that subject.

Anyway, Amir . . . enough about that guy. Enough about him for a while.

Hmmm. Not convinced yet? Let me put it another way.


Detroit is not a training camp. Minnesota is <--- that way.







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