Even though Tyler Johnson is no longer a member of the Miami Heat, his connection with the team hasn’t completely disappeared.
That was evident from the photo his former teammate, James Johnson, posted of the current member of the Phoenix Suns adorned in Heat gear.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1UOrr2grlf/?igshid=l6uz06l0cu81
Tyler Johnson’s work ethic and competitiveness has never been in question, with the 6-foot-4 guard having made the Heat as an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State University in 2014. While he did start 56 of his 257 regular season games with the Heat, he was used primarily as an offensive weapon off the bench.
Last February, in the middle of his fifth season with the Heat, Johnson was dealt to the Suns along with Wayne Ellington in exchange for Ryan Anderson. Over the course of his five seasons in the NBA, he’s averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while also knocking down 347 3-pointers at a success rate of 36.4 percent.
In July 2016, Johnson signed an four-year, $50 million free agent offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets, which the Heat subsequently matched. However, because the contract was backloaded, the Heat sought to deal him to another team to provide some salary cap flexibility.
Johnson exercised the player option for the final year of his deal last month and is currently scheduled to again become a free agent next July. That could conceivably end up putting him back on the Heat’s roster, thought it seems likely that he’d have to take a steep pay cut to play for the team a second time.
