On July 8, 2016, Johnson signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the Utah Jazz. He joined the Jazz with the intention being to come off the bench behind Gordon Hayward. But with an injury to Hayward during preseason, Johnson was thrust into the starting line-up in his absence. He made his debut for the Jazz in their season opener on October 25, scoring a team-high 29 points in a 113–104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. With Hayward's return to line-up on November 6 to face the New York Knicks, Johnson came off the bench for the first time since December 9, 2003. On February 8, 2017, Johnson highlighted a 27-point performance with six three-pointers on eight attempts in a 127–94 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On April 15, 2017, Johnson scored a team-high 21 points off the bench and hit a game-winning floater at the buzzer to give the Jazz a 97–95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Eight days later in Game 4, Johnson again paced the Jazz with 28 points off the bench to give them a 105–98 victory and tie the series with the Clippers at 2–2. The Jazz went on to eliminate the Clippers with a 104–91 victory in Game 7, closing out the first-round series 4–3 to earn the franchise's first postseason series victory since 2010.