4 buyout candidates the Washington Wizards should target
By Keith Cork
Tyler Johnson
Position: Point Guard/Shooting Guard
Age: 27
Tyler Johnson is a player who has become lost on a point guard-heavy Phoenix Suns roster. It was only a few years ago, in 2016-17 on a Miami Heat team that went 41-41 and just barely missed the playoffs that Johnson was a main contributor.
He logged just a shade under 30 minutes per game for the Heat that season and his per 36 numbers were pretty solid: 16.6 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.4 spg, and 43/37/77 shooting splits. He’s a skilled player that just happened to have a contract that was tough to swallow, earning a little over $19 million in the final year of his contract.
With the buyout, he’ll be hungry to prove he can perform at that level again and he’ll likely be willing to do it for cheap, willing to accept the minimum salary exception to play out the season should the Suns decide to buy him out.
He’s an excellent 3-and-D type player that could contribute if the Wizards are serious about making a strong playoff push next season. He’s almost the antithesis of Bradley Beal on the defensive end and his change of pace being a disruptor could come in big for us.