Amir Johnson: Colangelo Wants To Re-Sign Me 100%

[Built Ford Tough]

If there’s one thing we learned last season, it’s that Amir Johnson in a man of few words.

But in a brief interlude with a gathering of reporters waiting at the Air Canada Centre this morning for the breathless prose of NBA draft prospects, Johnson made it clear – succinctly – that he could very well be a Raptor again once he becomes a free agent in July.

 

“Absolutely. I know I talked to Bryan Colangelo and he said he wanted to re-sign me 100 per cent so I guess we have to wait until July and see what happens.”

 

Johnson’s one of a handful of Raptors free agents and – behind Chris Bosh, of course – the one the team wants to re-sign above all else. He had something of a breakthrough year last season and his nightly effort and energy was in contrast to some of his teammates.

 

Getting him back has to be a priority.

 

But Johnson’s going to attract some attention from other teams and it’s not like he’s going to sign back in Toronto the first second he can.

 

“I’ll probably take my time with it, there’s no rush, I’m just going to keep on working hard."

 

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2010/06/amirs-here-and-wants-to-stay.html

 

I would love to see Johnson back with the Raptos next season, but as long as it is for a reasonable price. No more overpaying for average players as we have seen what kind of position that has put the Raptors in in previous seasons (Antonio Davis, Jerome and Alvin Williams, Jose Calderon, Hedo Turkoglu etc...). If Johnson wants to stay in Toronto for around $4-5M

 

However, if he is looking for anything more than MLE money, I don't know how thrilled I would be with re-signing him for that amount. I think it is a priority to have Amir back next season though as him, DeRozan, Weems and Jack are far and away the hardest workers on this team and have developed an outstanding chemistry with one another.

[BasX]

I am in the same boat as you, but I know there is mutual interest. This makes me very happy.