Tennessee basketball: What trade to Blazers means for former Vol Keon Johnson

After playing for nine straight games in late December and early January, highlight by a 15-point performance against the Brooklyn Nets, former Tennessee basketball guard Keon Johnson has been inactive for over a month. Now, in his rookie season, he has been traded away from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Johnson was part of a trade involving Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow and a 2025 second-round draft pick to the Portland Trailblazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Portland gave up Norman Powell and Robert Covington.

With 15 games of experience, Johnson has seen more action this year than Tennessee basketball’s other two rookies in the pros, including fellow draft pick Jaden Springer, who has only seen two games with the Philadelphia 76ers. Yves Pons played seven games with the Memphis Grizzlies.

By every metric, Portland is a better fit for Johnson. He is now playing for a defensive specialist in Chauncey Billups, and defense is why the 6’5″ 186-pound guard was drafted. Also, Portland isn’t as stacked at off-guard as LA is.

Of course, Bledsoe and Winslow can both play off-guard too, but Bledsoe is more of a true point guard, and Winslow is more of a true wing. Meanwhile, Portland gave up Powell, one of their true off-guards, even further depleting their roster at that spot.

As a result, Johnson could start to see more action at the two-guard spot. It seems likely that Billups would give him a chance. He obviously won’t start with C.J. McCollum on the roster, but the existence of McCollum and Damian Lillard won’t put pressure on him to be an offensive guard.

Last year, during Tennessee basketball’s up and down season, Johnson’s defense and abilities in transition stood out. There’s a reason he was a five-star guard, and honestly, given how Springer was a five-star for his offense and that offense came and went, Johnson was more consistent.

None of this is to say Johnson will start to see regular action in Portland. It’ll still be a fight. However, this is to say that he’ll have a much better chance given the system and the personnel on that team. On New Years Day against Brooklyn, he had four steals, so his ability to generate transition buckets can’t be overlooked at this level.

Offensively, Johnson was solid at getting to the rim for Tennessee basketball, so if Billups does need some help from his guards in the paint, he could get it from Johnson as well. Taking all this into account, you have to think Johnson will get a fair look. That makes this a much better situation for him.