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Robb: What Will Amir Johnson Bring To Celtics?

BOSTON (CBS) -- The NBA free agency period is just a few days old, but with big names being scooped up left and right, it's safe to say power forward Amir Johnson will be the biggest name the Celtics add to the fold next season.

Johnson, 28, has played his last six seasons with the Toronto Raptors and was one of the last players to make the jump from high school to the NBA in 2005. Ten years later, he's a seasoned veteran who helped anchor the frontcourt for an Eastern Conference playoff team the past two seasons.

On the surface, Johnson appears to be simply a replacement for Brandon Bass, a player that there doesn't seem to be room left for on a crowded Celtics roster. What exactly does Johnson bring to the table though? How will he improve this team compared to Bass? Let's take a closer look at what Celtics fans should expect from the 6-foot-9 big man.

RIM-ROLLER AND SCREEN-SETTER

Tyler Zeller played some of the best basketball of his career in Boston last season as the screener in pick-and-roll situations. He rolled to the rim aggressively, taking advantage of speedy Boston guards that attracted defenders and scored 1.2 points per possession, according to NBA.com/stats when the ball ended up in his hands in these sequences. That's good enough to be one of the best big men in that department.

Johnson fits a similar mold to Zeller, with some added benefits. He finished with 1.16 PPP last season as the roll man, crashing the paint hard after setting screens. Johnson averaged just 9.3 points per game last season in 26 minutes, but he's a efficient scorer, shooting 57.3 percent from the field in his career. He knows his limitations and does not go beyond them, scoring primarily out of the pick-and-roll.

Like Zeller, he also has a reliable mid-range jumper. But the thing Brad Stevens is probably most excited about is his untapped three-point shooting range.

Johnson took only 0.6 attempts per game from downtown last season, but shot an impressive 41.3 percent from deep. It's unclear yet if that number is sustainable (Johnson is a 34 percent career three-point shooter), but you can bet the Celtics coaching staff will find out. On a team full of bigs that shot inconsistently (Jared Sullinger) or unwillingly at times (Kelly Olynyk) from beyond the arc, Johnson has one of the better track records.

When the Celtics play some small-ball and shift Johnson to the five, while pairing him with a stretch four like Jonas Jerebko, Boston will have five shooters that spread the floor at any one time, giving Stevens a better lineup for his pace-and-space offense.

LIMITATIONS

Johnson does bring a little more bulk than Bass, but his rebounding is only a slight upgrade in that area, primarily on the offensive end of the floor. He's not very long, so Jared Sullinger will remain the best defensive rebounder on the team. After watching the Cavs demolish Boston on the glass in last year's first-round sweep, Johnson won't help solve that problem.

Like Bass, Johnson won't be getting to the free throw line much at all, averaging a paltry 2.3 free throw attempts per 36 minutes. The Celtics won't expect him to be a shot creator, but an inability to get to the free throw line will not help a Celtics offense that finished in the bottom half of the league in efficiency.

Finally, there's the age and health component. Johnson battled ankle injuries last year and his numbers took a dip accordingly. However, after playing over 13,000 minutes in his 10-year career, Johnson's best days may be behind them. Playing in a more creative offensive system in Boston under Stevens could be liberating, but it's still unclear just how much he has left in the tank.

Boston protected itself against the possibility of Johnson being on the downturn with what is essentially a one-year deal for Johnson, with the second year fully non-guaranteed, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

Worst-case scenario, Johnson is an expiring trade chip for the team next year to help them match salaries in a big deal that Danny Ainge could pursue to land a building block. Until then, Johnson's hard work ethic and versatility on both ends should help upgrade the Celtics frontcourt next season.

Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.

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