JaJuan Johnson Traded By Mad Ants to Canton

JaJuan Johnson, the former Big Ten Player of the Year, is on the move yet again. He began 2012 with the Celtics, but was traded in the summer and cut by the Rockets. He was with the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League as the first overall pick, but today he moved yet again. Ft. Wayne traded him to the Canton Charge:

Canton sent the rights to former Cavalier forward Luke Harangody and a 2013 third-round draft pick to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in exchange for Johnson and Fort Wayne’s 2013 first-round draft pick.

JJ was averaging 13.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks for Ft. Wayne in 13 games this season. His move comes just as it looked like he might get called up to the Pacers:

As an aside, if Johnson wants to keep playing basketball in Indiana, three points a game and one rebound won't cut it. His eight minutes of good defense, which is what the Pacers are known for in this 18 games, will be remembered and which is why Johnson should be called up to the Fieldhouse.

The Charge are owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers and they are the lone NBA team that draws players from them. Ft. Wayne could send players to Indiana, Detroit, Charlotte, or Milwaukee. Canton is 7-8 on the season as opposed to Ft. Wayne's 4-10, so he is at least going to a better team.

JJ likely moves into a starting role on a better team and most of teammates now have little or no NBA experience. If this is a way he gets back to the league faster I am all for it. We all want success for JJ but the reality is that he is just too skinny for his position in the league. He's a worker though. His jumper will be his key back to the league if he can hit it consistently and his 2.2 blocks shows he is still a hard worker on defense. Cleveland isn't exactly tearing it up at 7-24. If Jon Leuer can stick on their roster, so can JJ.