He’s suited up with Toronto’s zombies. He’s dyed and sculpted his hair the red of Raptor toil. He’s been an off-court MVP in Toronto’s Sick Kid’s Hospital, and a Champion with Ujiri’s Giants of Africa. He spreads love to his fans who ‘roll’ with him, and the grip of his character holds fifteen professional athletes unified and competitively focused game in, game out. He’s the locker-room glue, and the 6’9 240 lb chisel that pounds the unquantifiable rock on a nightly basis. Simply put: Amir Johnson’s heart should never be questioned.

List of great dude qualifications aside, the Raptors desperately need on-court statistical big-man output that Amir cannot consistently provide, and the organization cannot opportunistically afford to slowly develop. That is, two of the Raptor’s three centerpieces (Lowry and Derozan) are now approaching their primes, occasionally scratching their heads on the ceiling but gravitating back to earth with the weight of offensive productivity on their shoulders, and in the absence of a staunch defensive anchor on the team. In order for our core’s potential to be maximized and reflected in team success (Toronto basketball being played in late May, early June) the Raptors need swift and significant improvement at the power forward position in the form of a physical defensive specialist, which Amir Johnson can no longer be for 25-30 minutes per night.

Further proof that the best defence can’t solely be a well-oiled offence is Toronto’s league-wide 3rd best offensive ranking (108.3 points per 100 possessions), juxtaposed with its 11th place league-wide, 4th spot in the East, 45-32 record. Toronto’s foundation of stars may be bright for years to come, but right now their rotation around the paint is off kilter with one of its starting 5 noticeably fading on both ends.

Though his basketball IQ and determination are overflowing, it’s clear the Raptors need more from their starting power forward. Pulling in 3.9 defensive rebounds and blocking less than 1 shot per game as a starting big-man doesn’t contribute to a viable elite basketball system. Amir accounts for only 13% of total rebounds while he’s on the court, and grabs only 49% of possible contested rebounds (those which he is within 3.5 feet of, with one other opponent also going for the board: averaging 12 opportunities per game). Amir hasn’t been a dependable rebounder this season, and his lack of production on the glass puts physical strain on the rest of the team who are working harder to obtain and eliminate 2nd chance opportunities. Johnson has only 6 double-doubles this season. Defensively, a simple eye-test leaves fans abundantly frustrated as Amir routinely bites (hard) at the slightest of pump-fakes while Matt, Jack, Leo, Dwane Casey and every single Raptors fan sounds like a broken record yelling ‘stay down’ in disbelief. His late rotations to the perimeter offer the opponents he is meant to guard nearly 6.5 made field-goals per game (outside of 10 feet from the rim) at 48% accuracy. Those are catch-and-shoot opportunities that Amir is late to, or one-dribble pull up jumpers after the successful shot-fake.

Masai Ujiri drew the map and took the wheel of the Toronto Raptors in May of 2013. Since that time his trickle-down philosophy has been team progress through individual growth and development. Top down, each individual in the organization must show continuous growth in his or her specific role, applying their added skillsets to the team structure. Along this continuous forward path the Toronto Raptors would consistently be playoff contenders in the East, and eventual league champions.

Let’s evaluate Amir’s performance against Ujiri’s philosophy:

Amir Johnson, Years & Stats with the Toronto Raptors

Season Age GP Min Pts Fg% Ftm FT% OReb DReb Rbs Ast Stl Blk To 2009-10 23 82 17.7 6.2 62.3 1.2 63.8 1.9 2.9 4.8 .6 .5 .8 .8 2010-11 24 72 25.7 9.6 56.8 1.8 78.7 2.6 3.8 6.4 1.1 .7 1.2 1 2011-12 25 64 24.3 7.1 57.6 .9 69 2.3 4 6.4 1.2 .5 1.1 1.5 2012-13 26 81 28.7 10 55.4 1.7 72.7 2.8 4.7 7.5 1.5 1 1.4 1.4 2013-14 27 77 28.8 10.4 56.2 1.2 63.6 2.2 4.3 6.6 1.5 .7 1.1 1.6 2014-15 28 61 26.6 9.1 57.3 1.1 61.2 2.1 3.8 6.1 1.5 .6 .8 1.5

In short, this season Amir’s points are down, made free-throws are down, free-throw percentage is career low, offensive and defensive rebounds are down, and his block numbers are down. Though his numbers aren't much lower than in previous seasons, the issue is that his numbers were never eye-popping to begin with for a starting forward on a could-be… should-be serious Eastern Conference contender. Johnson, navigating through Ujiri’s path to team success, has been lost for too long now, and the heart and soul of the Toronto Raptors is slumping into the expiration of his 5-year $30 million deal.

With two legitimate all-stars (Lowry and Derozan), a top-10 center (JV), and a 6th man of the year candidate (Lou), Ujiri has to be on point in addressing the Raptors’ big-man and defensive deficiencies this off season.

Heart and soul can’t be overlooked though. While it’s clear that Amir can’t be the Raptors starting power forward come 2015-16 (if we’re serious about winning), chemistry and leadership are absolutely crucial in this league, and there’s no doubting Amir’s unquantifiable stats in those areas. The Raps need to keep Johnson at the right price. They need to make him a role player, coming off the bench for 12-15 minutes per game. His benchmark for continuous improvement needs to be redefined in his this new role. The Raptors are one significant piece away from being the legitimate Eastern Conference threat we know they can be, and they will have roughly $33 million to play with this off season.

Number Crunch and What to Do

1. The Raptors have $32,800,000 coming off the books at the end of this season, and will need to fill 6 roster spots.

2. Lou Williams will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and needs to be resigned as a priority. His last contract, signed in 2012, was $15,675,000 over 3 years, and his numbers this year are on par. He should get a similar contract to what Vasquez and Patterson received last summer, and Masai should look to sign our ‘instant offense’ to a 3 year $19,250,000 deal.

3. That leaves $26,383,334 with 5 spots to fill. Johnson’s last contract, signed in 2011, was roughly $6 million per year for 5 years. He should be signed for no more than 2 seasons at this stage of his physical capability, and for no more than $5.5 million per season. His buy-in to the team’s direction in finding a legit starting power forward, and their need for his bench leadership and energy will be critical.

4. The Raps would then have $20,883,334, 4 spots to fill, and a likely late first round draft pick. They should throw money and inferior Eastern Conference optimism at free agent names like Lamarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe, Draymond Green, Omer Asik, or Canada’s Tristen Thompson.

The heart and soul of the Raptors is strong, but clearly not enough. Toronto has an elite foundation of all stars in their primes, and an up-and-coming legit center. But they also have a glaring hole at power forward, and an abundance of off season opportunities. Playoffs will be a good test this year, but the real fun will happen over the summer.