Toronto Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas, left, and forward James Johnson box out Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert during NBA action at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 18, 2015.Jeffrey Swinger
The day after James Johnson took to Twitter to voice his frustration, Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey insisted the team had moved on.
Johnson played 5 1/2 minutes in the Raptors' thrilling 103-99 victory Wednesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, easily Toronto's biggest win this season.
On Thursday morning, Johnson posted a potentially polarizing tweet that had Twitter abuzz: "#Mood. Under-utilized."
Later in the day, Johnson, whose Twitter handle is IamJJ3, wrote "My bad, just want more than anything to be a big part of something special for fans, teammates and coaches. #wethenorth."
Johnson didn't speak with reporters at Friday's practice, but Casey said: "In today's NBA, you're not surprised by anything. It's not a big deal. He tweeted something he probably shouldn't have tweeted."
Casey said he'd talked to Johnson and the issue had been handled internally.
"Everybody understands their role and what his job is. We'll move on. It's been handled, dealt with," Casey said. "James had an excellent practice today. We had a spirited practice today, which is good."
Johnson, who's in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13.5 minutes a game behind newcomers DeMarre Carroll and Luis Scola, plus Patrick Patterson.
"James has done an excellent job as far as his small role [is concerned]. His role is what it is right now," Casey said. "DC has done an excellent job at the three. Pat and Luis are doing an excellent job at the four. That's been explained to James numerous times.
"He's a valuable piece of what we do," Casey continued. "He's an excellent utility guy. He can play multiple positions. But right now, he's behind at those multiple positions. It's not a big deal. We're moving on. There's a lot more to talk about than a tweet that happened yesterday."
The athletic 6-foot-9 forward, who has thrilled fans with his highlight-reel dunks, played the 2011-12 season for the Raptors but was traded to Sacramento, leaving Toronto on less than great terms.
The Raptors signed him for a second stint in the 2014 off-season.
Fans have been in Johnson's corner. When he barely played in the Raptors' playoff run against the Washington Wizards last spring, they pleaded with Casey during games to put him in and took to social media to voice their displeasure.
Casey responded then by saying: "It's not a backup quarterback controversy. James has been in this role the whole year and again, there's going to be a time and place for him in the playoffs."