Wizards Guard Maps Out His Planned Offensive Leap

His transition-heavy play-style has shined in moments in Las Vegas, with his collecting 25 points in a game after the usual starters hit the bench. He was a blur in the open court, but stopped the ball frequently against set defenses. Johnson has a quick first step and a sharp handle, yet he's struggled to create scoring advantages.

That inability to comfortably fire rhythm 3-pointers or consistently drive against pressure hold him back is something he plans on continuing to address between seasons, with minutes not being nearly as guaranteed entering his first opening day with the Wizards.

Johnson's priorities of diversifying his shooting profile and finishing strong down low with added weight suggest that he's still working on developing into a score-first player, an interesting focus given his stated intentions of acting as the Summer League team's point guard. The July offense hasn't flowed with him on the court, with his doing all of his damage in isolation or as a fast break finisher.

He's been allowed to fully experiment with Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson getting shut down for the remainder of the summer schedule, the usual starters who'll be expected to play heavy minutes in the opening night rotation.

Those guys, along with aforementioned veterans McCollum, Smart, Middleton and Corey Kispert, will make things even more interesting should they remain on the team through the summer, giving Johnson plenty of competition in the Washington guard room. He seems to have a specific plan for how to improve by then, but time will tell if that's what the team needs out of the rising sophomore.