Growing up in Los Angeles, the Lakers were naturally Stanley Johnson’s favorite team. And like many LA kids, Johnson held out hope that the Lakers would draft him after his one standout year at Arizona.
That didn’t happen. Johnson’s NBA career instead took him to Detroit, New Orleans and Toronto, places where he regularly saw the court but never blossomed into the lottery pick potential that had been bestowed on him since his high school days at Mater Dei.
Johnson entered the 2021-22 season without an NBA team, a portentous sign for someone entering their seventh season of professional basketball.