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‘Duty calls’ KJ comes out of retirement to help Phoenix
Posted: Thursday March 23, 2000 11:28 PM
PHOENIX (AP) -- With Jason Kidd out of the picture, Kevin Johnson's back in. Nearly two years after his last NBA game, Johnson re-signed with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday hours after Kidd broke his ankle. The 34-year-old Johnson, a three-time All-Star point guard, was the Suns' floor leader until they acquired Kidd in December 1996. Johnson will play for the team for the rest of the season. Kidd broke a bone high in his left ankle just before halftime Wednesday night against Sacramento and might not be back in time for the playoffs. Doctors inserted three screws during a two-hour operation Thursday. The injury was just the latest blow to the Suns, who have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. Forward Tom Gugliotta was lost for the season when he tore ligaments in his left knee March 10, and guard Rex Chapman is out following an appendicitis attack last week. Earlier in the season, coach Danny Ainge resigned, Gugliotta had a near-fatal seizure, and Penny Hardaway and Shawn Marion were injured. "When you list the players who have gone down with illness and injury, it's like taking a number of bullets and still be standing," team owner Jerry Colangelo said. "The job that the players and coaching staff under Scott Skiles -- what they've done and accomplished -- makes it a very special team." The beaming Johnson joined the team shootaround Thursday. He handled the ball, joked with teammates and spoke quietly with assistant coach John MacLeod. He skipped the trip to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Friday night, remaining in Phoenix to practice. But he will suit up Sunday in a home game against Golden State. "He left at the top of his game, and it wasn't that long ago," Colangelo said. "So you've got a young, athletic body, and all we're talking about is timing." Skiles said Randy Livingston would start at the point for the time being, with shooting guard Hardaway sharing some of the responsibility of breaking opponents' traps and getting the ball into the frontcourt. Johnson, who was plagued by injuries before he retired, hasn't played since the 1997-98 season. He said he stayed in good enough shape to enter 10-kilometer races, but avoided playing basketball so he wouldn't be tempted to resume his 11-year career. However, he said he felt an obligation to help the Suns, who acquired him from Cleveland on Feb. 25, 1988. "The organization said, 'We're in a bind, and you're the only one that can help us,'" Johnson said. "It's like your country calling you. You have to accept that challenge." Johnson ranks 10th in the NBA with 6,687 career assists. He is the Suns' career assists leader (6,494) and third in scoring with 12,707 points, averaging 18 points a game. Johnson's career assist average of 9.2 trails only John Stockton, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson, and he is only the sixth player with 11,500 points, 6,000 assists, 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 steals. He averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists from 1988-91. Only four other players accomplished that feat -- Nate Archibald, Magic Johnson, Robertson and Isiah Thomas.
"Seeing him here made me happy, and once they said he signed I was really happy, because I know what he can bring to this team," Hardaway said. "Kevin put pressure on the defense his entire career and made life hard on a lot of people. I'm sure he still can do it."
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