It was 2005 when he found himself there, sent to the D-league for seasoning by the Detroit Pistons. He returned to South Dakota on Thursday night, perhaps not as a conquering hero but certainly as a better player than when he left.

"I was a young guy, 18 years old, and one thing (the coaches) told me was to just play the game, don't be nervous, just go out there and play," Johnson said Thursday as the Raptors got in their last full workout before their final pre-season game Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It's been a bit of a bumpy ride from Sioux Falls for Johnson. He was expected to be a building block of the new Detroit Pistons, a young, mobile big man around whom the team could be restructured.

He didn't thrive in a starting role last season, however, and was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in a money-driven transaction in June, only to be shipped to Toronto less than two months later in a deal involving he and Sonny Weems for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic.

But Johnson is getting a second chance with the Raptors to show what he can do. The club covets his athleticism and rebounding skills, two attributes in short supply on the team in recent years.

Johnson's had a solid pre-season and, with an injury to Reggie Evans taking one Toronto big man out of the rotation, seems poised to play significant minutes once the regular season begins Wednesday.

"That's fair to say," said coach Jay Triano. "He's done well, he's come in and brought us a certain amount of energy; he goes and gets the ball off the glass, which is good."

Johnson knows he's never going to be a 20-points-a-night scorer in the NBA, his jump shot's not nearly good enough and he's got to develop more post moves. But he's also savvy enough four years into his career to know what makes him stand out.

"The biggest thing I have right now is energy and running the floor and rebounding, wherever Jay wants to put me on the court," he said. "I can guard threes (small forward), guard quicker fours (power forwards), so wherever he wants me, I'm willing to play it.

"What I bring to the team is a lot of energy, hustle plays and I'm going to keep getting my teammates open if I run the floor and draw (defenders) in the paint."

Triano hopes to use the final pre-season game - and likely the first few regular-season contests - developing roles for his backup players. Johnson, before the injury to Evans, was penciled in as someone who'd split time with Rasho Nesterovic at centre depending on a particular matchup. Now, Johnson is going to have to play more and the coach needs to hammer home what he wants from him.

"We just have to start identifying some of our roles with our players because right now I've let these guys play and kind of do what they can to earn spots and earn positions," said the coach. "Now it's time to start fine-tuning that with some of them."