Amir Johnson

Amir Johnson plays as a center for the Toronto Raptors. He was drafted in the second round, 56 overall, by the Detroit Pistons out of high school. Johnson is the last player to be drafted directly out of high school, as the NBA instituted a rule prior to the 2006 NBA Draft that states “U.S. players must be at least one year removed from high school and 19 years of age.”http://www.insidehoops.com/nba-collective-bargaining-agreement.shtml

In 2009, Johnson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three team deal with the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. Later that same year, he was again traded; this time to the Toronto Raptors along with Sonny Weems for Roko Ukić and Carlos Delfino.http://www.nba.com/bucks/news/bucks_trade_tracker.htmlhttp://www.nba.com/raptors/news/johnson_weems_trade081809.html

Johnson played in all 82 games for the Raptors in the 2009 – 2010 season. He averaged 6.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 17.7 minutes per game. He had a season-high 26 points in a 111 – 97 win over the Pistons on April 12. In that game, he also gathered two rebounds and had four assists in 34 minutes.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/amir_johnson/game_by_game_stats.html The Raptors went 40 and 42, missing the playoffs by one game.

Johnson played for the Detroit Pistons for four years. He played in only three games in the 2005 – 2006 season. In those three games, he scored 20 points and had four rebounds.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/amir_johnson/career_stats.html

He first saw major time in the 2007 – 2008 campaign, where he played in 62 games off the bench. He contributed 221 points and 232 rebounds during the regular season, and 21 points with 13 rebounds in the playoffs.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/amir_johnson/career_stats.html He had a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds in a 98 to 94 loss to the New York Knicks on April 8.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=2769&year=2008

In his final season in Detroit, Johnson played in 62 games, starting 24 of them. He had 217 points and 232 rebounds. He had a double-double in a 110 to 96 win over the Knicks, scoring 12 points and gathering 13 rebounds.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=2769&year=2009