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All that James Johnson wants is a chance to play basketball in the NBA, and in a trade deadline deal this February, he got a second chance to show he belongs.

"To get traded to Toronto for a first round pick that they had felt like a draft all over again for me," said Johnson.  "I’ll do the rookie thing all over again if I have to."

Johnson was traded to the Toronto Raptors by Chicago for Miami’s first round pick in this year’s upcoming draft.  The sixteenth pick in 2009, the small forward never really got his chance in Chicago as he was buried behind Luol Deng and his team was on a playoff drive with little desire to risk rookie mistakes.  Johnson actually asked to be sent to the NBA D-League in order to get some playing time this season.

"It was like the dream finally coming true where I finally get some exposure up here in a real league," said Johnson.  "(In Chicago) I was just getting two minutes and sitting down and not getting much experience in this league."

"When you look at the roster of the team he came from there was no playing time for him," explained Raptors head coach Jay Triano.  "The guys in front of him are pretty darn good, both the first line and the second line players so he didn’t really get a chance to play but that won’t be the case here, he will get a chance to play."

When Johnson entered his name in the 2009 draft after two years at Wake Forest, the Raptors were very interested in acquiring his services.

"He is a guy we were very close to drafting at one point," said Triano.  "We worked him out twice, brought him in here and took him for dinner twice.  We liked his game.  He fit the mold of what we think some of the three-men in the NBA would be with his length and athleticism and he was a very skilled player.  He found ways to score the basketball, he rebounds the ball, and he is a very good passer so he has a lot of skills."

Johnson and the Bulls

Unfortunately for Johnson, his rookie destination lay elsewhere.

"My agent and I talked a lot to Toronto about coming here during the draft," said Johnson. "I was hoping that they would pick me up but they got a great player in DeMar and it was unfortunate that I had to go to the Bulls."

Johnson worked hard while he was on the Bulls and his teammates noticed the effort and considered him to be a good teammate despite that fact he wasn’t receiving much playing time.

"We were drafted together," said Taj Gibson.  "He is a hard working player, constantly working on his game.  He never got a real shot to play in all the time he had with this team."

"First of all I consider JJ to be like a brother to me," said Joakim Noah.  "He is someone that I was really close to.  He would always come to my house without even calling me, just knock on the door and sometimes it was annoying but that’s what little brothers do.  A great teammate and I know that teammates or not JJ is always going to be someone that if I ever need his help he will be there for me.

"It’s always a different situation with a rookie.  You have a lot to learn and there is a lot of responsibility that comes with being an NBA player and I think he is learning that.  He is very young, but he is someone who is working very hard and has a great work ethic and I am sure that he is going to be a hell of a talent in this league."

"James is a phenomenal athlete, young, a little raw," said Ronnie Brewer.  "He just needs court time.  As you know sometimes when you are not in the rotation it gets kind of tough or frustrating to stay positive but he is a hard worker.  He has a different array of skills and Chicago obviously knew that he had the skills and that’s why they picked him so high in the draft.  I am looking forward to seeing what he does with Toronto.  They are a young group that likes to get up and down the court and he fits right in with that."

The Bulls organization recognized that they were not giving him a chance to develop and Johnson appreciates what they did for him.

"All I wanted was a second chance," said Johnson.

"They just wanted what was best for me and to have a general manager and a vice-president like that who cares about the players and not as much about the organization keeping a player who is not playing, it goes a long way and shows what kind of character they have."

Johnson and the Raptors

Johnson arrived in Toronto on the day he was traded and in time to dress for a game against the Bulls later that night.

"That was a great day for me, for my confidence and my pride, that somebody wanted me," said Johnson.  "Chicago called me out of practice and let me know the situation and what was going on.

"When I talked to Gar Foreman, the General Manager of the Bulls, he let me know that I was coming to Toronto.  That same day I got in contact with everybody in the Toronto organization about what my plans were and how fast I needed to get up here.  I told them that I could come here the same day and I actually came here that same day and got my physical done and we played Chicago that same day.  That was good as it gave me an opportunity to go against the old squad."

Not only did Johnson play, he started against his old team and has started at small forward for the Raptors in every game since then averaging 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 24.9 minutes over 14 games.

"It feels normal (to start)," said Johnson.  "I never came off the bench before other than my first two years in the NBA so that was the different part for me.  Coming out starting and playing my game is just like being back to normal."

(Coach Triano) doesn’t mind mistakes as long as you can play through it and get back on defense," said Johnson.  That’s what he really wants, he wants guys who will play defense and play hard.  If you can play hard and play defense then you can play through your offensive mistakes.  That takes a lot off somebody’s mind.

"Making little mistakes and getting out of the game that wears and tears at your confidence.  If I make a couple of mistakes now they’ll let me play through it a little bit and its helping me out, helping my game grow.  I wasn’t really growing sitting down on the bench (in Chicago)."

Johnson vs Weems and the Future

At the start of this season, the Raptors small forward position was crowded by the free agent acquisition of Linas Kleiza, the return of the very popular Sonny Weems, and the newly acquired Julian Wright.  Unfortunately Kleiza injured his knee in preseason and eventually had season-ending surgery and Weems missed about six weeks with back spasms so the Raptors needed D-League call-ups for part of the year.  When Weems returned at the end of January, the starting small forward position was his alone until Johnson arrived.

"Acquiring James fell right in line with our plan of acquiring more young talent and/or assets," Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo told HOOPSWORLD.  "We really didn’t have a prototypical small forward at the time as Sonny is really more of a 2 than he is a 3, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. If anything, Sonny has lost minutes because of DeMar’s emergence as a much more productive player."

"More than pushing guys, it is a great opportunity for us to evaluate our future and where we are going to go," said Triano.  "(Johnson) could be a guy who is a part of our future.  We like what we have seen so far.  We followed him in the d-league and he had very good numbers there.  He is going to get an opportunity to play consistent minutes in the NBA (here).

"He is a bigger guy than most of the guys we have.  We have a lot of slight guys so physically he is stronger than some (of our) guys, especially at that wing position, and that’s going to help us."

It has been obvious since the start of the season that the Raptors had a group of players who got along and worked hard.  Johnson has fit right in despite being the competition for minutes.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"Sonny Weems is a great player and I respect his game a lot," said Johnson.  "In practice we help each other out on defense and offense and we go at it against each other.  That is the nature of the game and that is what we are here to do. We challenge (each other) and the best man steps out on the floor and wins.  But (the decision) goes out to upper management and how they are feeling.  Giving new looks or new chances is crazy and that’s how the league goes.  I felt that I could have been starting over whoever else was with the Chicago Bulls and I could have been playing more minutes over whoever was playing instead of me but it’s not up to you, it’s up to the coach and what they feel is going to help them win.

"It is opportunity and you can’t really feel sorry for anybody and I wouldn’t expect anybody to feel sorry for me if it was the other way around."

"We got drafted together," said DeMar DeRozan.  "We have a great relationship.  He is a good friend of mine and it was definitely cool to see him come over."

Johnson has already identified with what he sees from his new teammates, a team that working hard to get better and put a winning product on the floor sooner rather than later.  He plans to be a big part of the Raptors future success.

"We are always going to play hard," said Johnson.  "That is what I admire about these guys.  Everybody is in the gym working on their game before practice and everybody stays after practice.  Just because we are having a losing season, nobody is down on themselves.  Nobody is not staying and saying what the use of staying in the gym and getting an extra workout because we are a losing team, that’s not the case with these guys.  These guys are working hard and grinding hard, myself included, and it’s great to see hungry guys for next year as well.  I feel we are not going to give up and you are going to see some season highlights, definitely some highlights out of DeMar.

"I am not scared to fail or go ask somebody or work harder than the next man and those are three things that I always want to do.  It is going to be fun.  If I end up coming off the bench, it is still a lot better position than it was in Chicago playing no minutes.  I know that somewhere there is some space for me here and whether that’s starting or coming off the bench my confidence is building every game and my game is getting better every game.

"It is good for me to get this experience in the league and get these games under my belt while I can because I know next year is going to be a grueling season and hopefully we have all of our guys back and hopefully I am a main reason why we have a winning season."

The Toronto Raptors have acquired a number of high potential young athletic players over the past couple of seasons who, if they develop, should form the core of a significantly better team.  Players like Johnson and Jerryd Bayless before him were on teams that offered little opportunity for them to showcase or develop their talents.  Injuries and lowered expectations has opened the door for these second chance players to show what they can do in Toronto this season and Johnson is getting his chance to prove he belongs in a big way.  So far, so good.

You can send me comments or questions about the Toronto Raptors, or anything else in the NBA to my weekly chat and check back on Thursday at noon ET for a response.

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