Sorry if this is a repost... but here you go
In an off-season that has produced one wacky transaction after another - from the Milwaukee Bucks offering $47 million to, yes, Bobby Simmons to the Knicks shelling out $10 mil a year in order for Larry Brown to live out his “dream” – there has not been a more puzzling development than the Joe Johnson-to-Atlanta saga.
Whether you feel – as I do – the Bucks grossly overspent this summer in landing not only Simmons but also re-upping with franchise player Michael Redd (six years, $90-96 million) and Dan Gadzuric (six years, $36 million), at least the franchise and its fans have a real sense of optimism heading into the upcoming season. The “Larrygate” scandal was a complete joke with a far-too-predictable outcome, but nevertheless Brown’s Gotham arrival instantly assures the Knicks will be much improved.
But the expected Joe Johnson-to-Atlanta sign-and-trade scenario, which is expected to go down on Tuesday when the league’s moratorium on signings is lifted at noon EST, is both baffling and tragic.
Free agency is all about business and looking out for number one, but here’s a player in Johnson whose career got off to a less-than-desirable start in Boston. While the Celtics were quick to rid themselves of Johnson early on in his rookie season in 2001-2002, the Suns took a flyer on him, and as a result JJ blossomed into one of the more complete players in the league last season while Phoenix emerged into a Western Conference power.
The Suns wanted Johnson then and still very much wanted him throughout the entire off-season as he became a restricted free agent. Teammates, particularly reigning league MVP Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, openly campaigned for his return, while management vowed they would take all steps necessary in retaining his services. How could they not? Johnson is coming off a season in which he averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and shot 46% from the field and a whopping 47.8% from beyond the arc.
Yet despite all the pleas and assurances, Johnson, seemingly a vital cog in Phoenix’s championship aspirations, now finds himself in, of all NBA destinations, Atlanta?
Yes, that’s right. Atlanta, where the lowly Hawks are coming off the heels of a league-worst 13-69 record last season. Atlanta, where, on a good night, 5,000 faithful will show up to Phillips Arena to watch their beloved team.
While the Hawks have been able to stockpile some interesting pieces through the draft the last two years, they don’t figure to be anywhere near competitive for at least three more years. Not in the Eastern Conference, where the likes of Indiana, Detroit, Miami, New Jersey, Chicago, Washington and now Cleveland all expect to be playoff fixtures.
Contrast the Hawks’ dismal situation to Johnson’s former team in Phoenix, where the Suns have quietly had one of the more productive off-seasons in the league with the additions of Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell, and you have to wonder where Johnson’s head is at, especially when the Suns figure to be even better this season than last year’s 62-win squad.
But that’s right, Johnson isn’t about winning. You could say he’s all about the money, but when you consider that Phoenix was ready to match the five-year, $70 million offer that the Hawks coughed up, it’s about more than that, too.
In the end, Johnson leaving the desert for the Hawks is about fame, about being “The Man.” Johnson was a complimentary part in Phoenix - a valuable one, mind you - but in Atlanta the spotlight – whatever spotlight there is in that city – will be focused squarely on JJ. He’ll step in right away and not only be the go-to guy but the leader and face of the franchise.
Johnson will also be playing his favorite position, it seems: point guard.
“I love the idea (of the Hawks inserting Johnson as the team’s starting point guard). I’d love that, having the ball in my hands,” Johnson recently told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. “I think I’m a great shooter, but I think that’s where I’m most effective, making decisions.”
With a myriad of athletic small forwards on the Hawks’ roster who can run the floor, Johnson will surely get the opportunity to be more of a distributor. But unlike in Phoenix, where Johnson was hardly considered the focus of opposing defenses, he’ll surely be the target of numerous double and perhaps even triple-teams this season in Atlanta, and it remains to be seen how he’ll adapt.
Even if the Hawks show improvement this season, and they should, they’ll be lucky to win more than 25 games. Maybe they’ll win 30 in JJ’s second year, and perhaps hover around .500 and compete for a playoff spot in year three. By that time, Phoenix may very well have won a championship.
The Suns, though they would have liked to have Johnson back, aren’t about to crumble anytime soon. In fact, they’re better off without Johnson - and his big ego - at this point.
On paper, yes, Phoenix will hurt without Johnson’s versatility out on the floor. But don’t discount what GM Bryan Colangelo has been able to accomplish this summer.
Colangelo went out and acquired Thomas from the Knicks for Quentin Richardson (I’m going to go out on a limb right here and say that Thomas’ acquisition was the biggest move of the summer by any team, just as far as the impact Thomas will bring to the Suns from a toughness standpoint) and signed free-agent Raja Bell, a tough defender and a very underrated ball-handler and shooter in his own right. With those two moves alone, even with Johnson’s departure, you’d have to consider Phoenix as a legitimate contender.
As valuable as JJ was to the Suns last season, the core of the team remains built around Amare Stoudemire, Nash and Marion (even though "The Matrix" was less than stellar in last spring’s playoffs). Coughing up, as the Hawks are seemingly prepared to do, $20 million up front to a player who may very well have been a malcontent had he returned just was not worth the risk for Phoenix.
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. JJ will find that out soon enough.
But that’s okay. At least he’ll be regarded as “The Man” for one of the NBA’s worst franchises.
In an off-season that has produced one wacky transaction after another - from the Milwaukee Bucks offering $47 million to, yes, Bobby Simmons to the Knicks shelling out $10 mil a year in order for Larry Brown to live out his “dream” – there has not been a more puzzling development than the Joe Johnson-to-Atlanta saga.
Whether you feel – as I do – the Bucks grossly overspent this summer in landing not only Simmons but also re-upping with franchise player Michael Redd (six years, $90-96 million) and Dan Gadzuric (six years, $36 million), at least the franchise and its fans have a real sense of optimism heading into the upcoming season. The “Larrygate” scandal was a complete joke with a far-too-predictable outcome, but nevertheless Brown’s Gotham arrival instantly assures the Knicks will be much improved.
But the expected Joe Johnson-to-Atlanta sign-and-trade scenario, which is expected to go down on Tuesday when the league’s moratorium on signings is lifted at noon EST, is both baffling and tragic.
Free agency is all about business and looking out for number one, but here’s a player in Johnson whose career got off to a less-than-desirable start in Boston. While the Celtics were quick to rid themselves of Johnson early on in his rookie season in 2001-2002, the Suns took a flyer on him, and as a result JJ blossomed into one of the more complete players in the league last season while Phoenix emerged into a Western Conference power.
The Suns wanted Johnson then and still very much wanted him throughout the entire off-season as he became a restricted free agent. Teammates, particularly reigning league MVP Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, openly campaigned for his return, while management vowed they would take all steps necessary in retaining his services. How could they not? Johnson is coming off a season in which he averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and shot 46% from the field and a whopping 47.8% from beyond the arc.
Yet despite all the pleas and assurances, Johnson, seemingly a vital cog in Phoenix’s championship aspirations, now finds himself in, of all NBA destinations, Atlanta?
Yes, that’s right. Atlanta, where the lowly Hawks are coming off the heels of a league-worst 13-69 record last season. Atlanta, where, on a good night, 5,000 faithful will show up to Phillips Arena to watch their beloved team.
While the Hawks have been able to stockpile some interesting pieces through the draft the last two years, they don’t figure to be anywhere near competitive for at least three more years. Not in the Eastern Conference, where the likes of Indiana, Detroit, Miami, New Jersey, Chicago, Washington and now Cleveland all expect to be playoff fixtures.
Contrast the Hawks’ dismal situation to Johnson’s former team in Phoenix, where the Suns have quietly had one of the more productive off-seasons in the league with the additions of Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell, and you have to wonder where Johnson’s head is at, especially when the Suns figure to be even better this season than last year’s 62-win squad.
But that’s right, Johnson isn’t about winning. You could say he’s all about the money, but when you consider that Phoenix was ready to match the five-year, $70 million offer that the Hawks coughed up, it’s about more than that, too.
In the end, Johnson leaving the desert for the Hawks is about fame, about being “The Man.” Johnson was a complimentary part in Phoenix - a valuable one, mind you - but in Atlanta the spotlight – whatever spotlight there is in that city – will be focused squarely on JJ. He’ll step in right away and not only be the go-to guy but the leader and face of the franchise.
Johnson will also be playing his favorite position, it seems: point guard.
“I love the idea (of the Hawks inserting Johnson as the team’s starting point guard). I’d love that, having the ball in my hands,” Johnson recently told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. “I think I’m a great shooter, but I think that’s where I’m most effective, making decisions.”
With a myriad of athletic small forwards on the Hawks’ roster who can run the floor, Johnson will surely get the opportunity to be more of a distributor. But unlike in Phoenix, where Johnson was hardly considered the focus of opposing defenses, he’ll surely be the target of numerous double and perhaps even triple-teams this season in Atlanta, and it remains to be seen how he’ll adapt.
Even if the Hawks show improvement this season, and they should, they’ll be lucky to win more than 25 games. Maybe they’ll win 30 in JJ’s second year, and perhaps hover around .500 and compete for a playoff spot in year three. By that time, Phoenix may very well have won a championship.
The Suns, though they would have liked to have Johnson back, aren’t about to crumble anytime soon. In fact, they’re better off without Johnson - and his big ego - at this point.
On paper, yes, Phoenix will hurt without Johnson’s versatility out on the floor. But don’t discount what GM Bryan Colangelo has been able to accomplish this summer.
Colangelo went out and acquired Thomas from the Knicks for Quentin Richardson (I’m going to go out on a limb right here and say that Thomas’ acquisition was the biggest move of the summer by any team, just as far as the impact Thomas will bring to the Suns from a toughness standpoint) and signed free-agent Raja Bell, a tough defender and a very underrated ball-handler and shooter in his own right. With those two moves alone, even with Johnson’s departure, you’d have to consider Phoenix as a legitimate contender.
As valuable as JJ was to the Suns last season, the core of the team remains built around Amare Stoudemire, Nash and Marion (even though "The Matrix" was less than stellar in last spring’s playoffs). Coughing up, as the Hawks are seemingly prepared to do, $20 million up front to a player who may very well have been a malcontent had he returned just was not worth the risk for Phoenix.
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. JJ will find that out soon enough.
But that’s okay. At least he’ll be regarded as “The Man” for one of the NBA’s worst franchises.
... The guy felt disrespected 
