Keown Johnson joined the Las Vegas Nets for summer league as an unrestricted free agent looking for a job.
He appears to have done well in the interview.
Johnson, who played five games for Brooklyn on a two-way contract last season, agreed to a multiyear contract with the Nets on Saturday, according to multiple reports.
The 22-year-old guard from Tennessee averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in four games with the Nets in Las Vegas.
“I think I made a good impression,” Johnson told reporters earlier this week. “I’ve got a lot of room to grow. But when you look at the footage, [there have] I’ve had many opportunities to improve my game and I feel like I’m improving and getting better every day.”
Johnson was originally drafted 21st overall by the Knicks in 2021, but his rights were traded to the Clippers on draft night in exchange for Quentin Grimes (25th overall).
He was then traded to Portland for Norman Powell, then to Phoenix in a multi-team trade for Damian Lillard before being released by the Suns.
The Nets signed Johnson in November and he spent most of the season with the team’s Long Island affiliate in the G League.
He appeared in five games for the Nets, playing a total of 61 minutes and averaging 6.2 points on 4-of-10 three-point attempts.
Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, who oversees the team’s summer league team, previously coached Johnson in Portland.
He said Thursday he was “very happy” with the way the 6-foot-5 guard played both defensively and defensively, adding, “I think Keown has the potential to be a defensive nightmare.”
The Johnson deal came one day after the Nets acquired small forward Zi’air Williams from the Grizzlies in exchange for former Knicks forward Mamadi Diakite.
