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It's getting to the point where it seems like you could substitute Bryan Colangelo's name for Chuck Norris' in the famous list of "Chuck Norris Facts". For example: "Pray that Bryan Colangelo never decides to look directly at the sun. It's a stare down contest and the sun will lose, casting a perpetual night upon us all."
Yeah, that seems about right.
So... Amir Johnson, huh? Can't say I saw that coming. Of course, you almost never see it coming with Bryan Colangelo. The news of this particular deal hit me like a roundhouse kick of awesomeness.
For years, Amir Johnson has been my "NBA binky". What's a binky, you ask? It's traditionally an item that small children carry with them for comfort, like a stuffed animal or blanket. But I like to use the word to describe something or someone for which a person has an irrational attachment or affection.
Before Amir was my binky, he was Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars' binky. Dumars drafted him 56th overall in the 2005 draft as the last player to be drafted out of high school before new rules required American players to be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class to be eligible for the draft. (Raptors fans know this as the rule that boned us out of drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.) Even though Johnson only played a total of 163 minutes over his first two NBA seasons, Dumars was so high on his potential that he signed Johnson to a three-year, $11 million deal in June 2007.
Johnson's per-36-minute and Player Efficiency Rating (PER) stats for the 2006-07 season show both the allure and the folly of evaluating players who have such a small sample size of playing time. He averaged 13.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 1.5 steals per 36 minutes with a PER of 20.6. Of course, this was based on 124 minutes played and was bolstered by the only two games that season where he played more than 30 minutes — in those two games, he played 72 minutes and had 32 points, 22 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. You could make the case that those two games earned Johnson several million extra dollars on his next contract.
With his shiny new deal, 20-year-old Johnson managed to earn 764 minutes of playing time in the 2007-08 season. And while his rebounding and shot-blocking remained impressive (11.1 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per 36 minutes), his scoring production dropped to 10.4 points per 36 and a red flag went up as to why he may not be able to stay on the floor for an extended period. His aggressive nature on defence led him to commit fouls at an alarming rate.
Even as new coach Michael Curry tried to force Johnson into the Pistons' starting lineup in 2008-09, his fouling ways continued. In 62 games — 24 of them starts — Johnson still only averaged 14.7 minutes per game because he couldn't stay out of foul trouble. He averaged a career-high 6.8 personal fouls per 36 minutes last season and he lost his starting job seven games into the season, largely because of boxscore lines like this one in the second game of the season: 11 minutes, two points, two rebounds, one assist, two turnovers, five personal fouls.
By the end of the season, Dumars had clearly tired of Amir's lack of discipline and he shipped him to Milwaukee as part of a three-team deal that brought Fabricio Oberto in return. Oberto was waived a week later, revealing the move to be a salary dump.
And now — well, as of August 23rd when the trade can legally be completed — Amir Johnson is a Raptor after Colangelo offered Carlos Delfino (sign-and-trade) and Roko Ukic (apparently the binky of hundreds of sad, confused Raptors fans) in return. One season after Pistons management and fans considered Johnson to have star potential, he's become an NBA journeyman at the tender age of 22.
Presumably, Colangelo's logic behind this trade is that he figures that the presence of Marco Belinelli renders Delfino redundant (although they're not even remotely the same player) and Ukic was going to be, at best, the third point guard in the Raptors' rotation. To all of you who think B.C. gave up on Ukic too soon, I'd like to point out that Ukic is actually 25 years old (although he doesn't look a day older than 17) and I'd argue that it's much easier to teach a 22-year-old how to stay out of foul trouble than it is to teach a 25-year-old how to shoot and develop court vision. If Ukic is ever more than a backup in this league, I will be shocked.
If you're wondering why I've been excited about Amir Johnson's potential throughout his career, I offer you this, this, this, this and this. The guy can flat-out fly and he's a hair under seven feet tall. I would put him ahead of Reggie Evans in the Raptors' big man rotation and I'd shift him right into the starting lineup when Bosh is out. If we can find a way to give Amir 20 minutes per game this season, I'll be a happy camper. And if he doesn't pan out? He's an expiring contract so his $3.9 million comes off the books in 2010.
Not that this will surprise you if you're already aware of my Amir Johnson man-crush, but I love love LOVE this trade. He brings rebounding, shot-blocking and athleticism — three things that have been in short supply on this team. Speaking of which, my approval rating on Colangelo's off-season just rose into the man-crush zone. I never would have dreamed that my NBA binky would be a Toronto Raptor for the 2009-10 season, but Raptors fans surely know now to expect the unexpected. I don't know if he's going to win his third Executive of the Year Award after this season, but he already has my vote for "Badass GM of the Year". 
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