Radio spot suggests JJ would like Suns return
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 31, 2005 12:00 AM
Joe Johnson asked the Suns last week not to match the offer sheet he can sign with Atlanta on Tuesday.
Johnson wants to play in Phoenix.
Can both be true? In free agency, where teams' wallets and players' skin need to be thick, Johnson may be proving to be a quality player again.
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It seemed inflammatory Friday when Johnson revealed to ESPN.com that he asked Managing Partner Robert Sarver not to re-sign him, particularly with Johnson saying it while in Toronto with Shawn Marion for Steve Nash's charity game.
But consider what Johnson also said Friday to Toronto's "The Fan" radio station when asked whether Phoenix was the best scenario for him.
"Probably so, more than likely so," Johnson said before a long, deep breath. "It's going to be tough. It's going to be real tough. Hopefully, everything will work out like we want it."
His posturing may have more to do with ensuring that a five-year offer that may be worth almost $72 million (with $18 million up front) is still on the table Tuesday.
There is no doubt that Johnson has been peeved. Those close to him said he was upset when Phoenix would not go up $5 million to meet his request for $50 million for six years last summer, when the Suns gave Quentin Richardson a six-year, $43.5 million deal.
He was further unsettled this month when Phoenix offered $60 million for six years and asked him to choose between it and the Atlanta offer at one point. That prompted his request to Sarver, who intends to match the Hawks' offer. He has a week to do so once Johnson signs Atlanta's offer.
"It's a lot of things," Johnson told ESPN.com when asked why he would want to leave Phoenix. "It's the way things were handled last summer, how things have been handled this summer. There's been some things going on that aren't great."
Johnson told a Little Rock television station recently that Phoenix was not doing anything extra to retain him, but it now appears he is taking some of the Suns' messages.
Phoenix prepared a full recruiting blitz for Johnson that would have been similar to the one that wooed Nash last summer. However, Johnson canceled a meeting in the first week of free-agency contact in order to seek his market value.
He found it with Atlanta, which sold Johnson on being in the South, playing point guard and being the star. But it would not be the first time Atlanta has been a pawn in free agency.
"They've been telling me how great of a city Phoenix is, and this and that," Johnson told The Fan. "There are a lot of things I already know. Of course, they don't want me to leave. They've just been showing me a lot of love right now.
"I'm just looking for the best situation for myself. I don't think it has more to do with one or the other. I would love to try to get a championship. But like I say, it's a business. You've got to go where you're comfortable. . . . Any decision I make, it doesn't really matter. It's a tough decision, but I think it's going to work out for the best."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0731suns0731.html
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 31, 2005 12:00 AM
Joe Johnson asked the Suns last week not to match the offer sheet he can sign with Atlanta on Tuesday.
Johnson wants to play in Phoenix.
Can both be true? In free agency, where teams' wallets and players' skin need to be thick, Johnson may be proving to be a quality player again.
advertisement
It seemed inflammatory Friday when Johnson revealed to ESPN.com that he asked Managing Partner Robert Sarver not to re-sign him, particularly with Johnson saying it while in Toronto with Shawn Marion for Steve Nash's charity game.
But consider what Johnson also said Friday to Toronto's "The Fan" radio station when asked whether Phoenix was the best scenario for him.
"Probably so, more than likely so," Johnson said before a long, deep breath. "It's going to be tough. It's going to be real tough. Hopefully, everything will work out like we want it."
His posturing may have more to do with ensuring that a five-year offer that may be worth almost $72 million (with $18 million up front) is still on the table Tuesday.
There is no doubt that Johnson has been peeved. Those close to him said he was upset when Phoenix would not go up $5 million to meet his request for $50 million for six years last summer, when the Suns gave Quentin Richardson a six-year, $43.5 million deal.
He was further unsettled this month when Phoenix offered $60 million for six years and asked him to choose between it and the Atlanta offer at one point. That prompted his request to Sarver, who intends to match the Hawks' offer. He has a week to do so once Johnson signs Atlanta's offer.
"It's a lot of things," Johnson told ESPN.com when asked why he would want to leave Phoenix. "It's the way things were handled last summer, how things have been handled this summer. There's been some things going on that aren't great."
Johnson told a Little Rock television station recently that Phoenix was not doing anything extra to retain him, but it now appears he is taking some of the Suns' messages.
Phoenix prepared a full recruiting blitz for Johnson that would have been similar to the one that wooed Nash last summer. However, Johnson canceled a meeting in the first week of free-agency contact in order to seek his market value.
He found it with Atlanta, which sold Johnson on being in the South, playing point guard and being the star. But it would not be the first time Atlanta has been a pawn in free agency.
"They've been telling me how great of a city Phoenix is, and this and that," Johnson told The Fan. "There are a lot of things I already know. Of course, they don't want me to leave. They've just been showing me a lot of love right now.
"I'm just looking for the best situation for myself. I don't think it has more to do with one or the other. I would love to try to get a championship. But like I say, it's a business. You've got to go where you're comfortable. . . . Any decision I make, it doesn't really matter. It's a tough decision, but I think it's going to work out for the best."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0731suns0731.html