azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 20, 2005 12:00 AM
After seven weeks of innuendo and intrigue, Joe Johnson spoke Friday when the trade he desired from Phoenix to Atlanta was finally completed.
There was no angst or thanks directed at the Suns, who went from prioritizing his re-signing to dealing him for guard Boris Diaw, two protected first-round picks and a $6 million trade exception.
He barely acknowledged a tumultuous departure from where his career boomed.
"I have no hard feelings at all toward anybody out there," Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "This is a business. I know it and they know it and everybody did what was best for them."
The Little Rock native cited returning to the South and a "fresh start" as reasons he left a 62-win team for a 13-win club.
He did not comment on how two summers of negotiations rankled him and prompted a stinging, personal request for owner Robert Sarver not to match Atlanta's five-year, $69.8 million offer. He signed for those terms, including $23 million in the first year.
The Johnson camp's discontent led Phoenix to pursue a sign and trade. A deal was hung up for three weeks by co-owner Steve Belkin, who agreed to a buyout Friday.
"I want the guy (Johnson) to do well and I wish him the best," said Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. "It's unfortunate his desires didn't fit our model of building a team."
Asked if there were not enough shots for the Suns' stars, Johnson told Hawks radio flagship WCXI, "That wasn't my purpose for leaving. I love playing with Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire. I'm great friends with those guys. My departure had nothing to do with them. It was other reasons . . . I had to do what's best for myself."
The Hawks will play Johnson at point, where he had spot duty with Phoenix. He will be part of a young core, like when the Suns began last season with the NBA's youngest roster.
"It was an experience that I'll cherish," he said. "I have a lot of memories. I still have a lot of fun. I keep in contact."
Phoenix acquires a $6 million exception that can offset a salary gap in a trade. The Suns will get Atlanta's first-round pick in 2006 if this season's Hawks make the playoffs. If not, they would get the pick in 2007 if it is not in the top three. There would be no conditions on the pick in 2008.
The other first-round pick may come next year. The Lakers owe Boston a first-round pick, but it is top-10 protected in 2006. Boston owes Atlanta a first-rounder, too. The least favorable of the Lakers' and Celtics' draft slots would go to Phoenix. The Suns only get the pick in a year the Lakers' pick moves to Boston. That Lakers' pick is top-five protected from 2007 to 2010.
Diaw, a 6-foot-8 guard, did not meet expectations of a No. 21 pick in two seasons with Atlanta. Diaw, 23, shot poorly while averaging 4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists but the Suns liked his minutes at point guard. Like Johnson, he fell out of a team's plans and had his passion questioned.
"We get a player with upside that will continue to grow," Colangelo said. "Hopefully, we'll get some of the same results we got from Johnson."
Colangelo said there was surprising patience from Johnson and his agent, Arn Tellem, during the trade's delays.
"Once we agreed to a deal and expressed that we'd honor that deal, we couldn't have gone back to the agent to negotiate a deal until they opened that door for us," he said.
"It certainly wasn't the intended result of our free-agency objective this summer, but we decided to turn the page and move on."
That includes a possible sign-and-trade deal for Indiana's James Jones.
The Suns are also vying to land Michael Finley, who visited with Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni at a wedding Thursday night.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0820suns0820.html
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 20, 2005 12:00 AM
After seven weeks of innuendo and intrigue, Joe Johnson spoke Friday when the trade he desired from Phoenix to Atlanta was finally completed.
There was no angst or thanks directed at the Suns, who went from prioritizing his re-signing to dealing him for guard Boris Diaw, two protected first-round picks and a $6 million trade exception.
He barely acknowledged a tumultuous departure from where his career boomed.
"I have no hard feelings at all toward anybody out there," Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "This is a business. I know it and they know it and everybody did what was best for them."
The Little Rock native cited returning to the South and a "fresh start" as reasons he left a 62-win team for a 13-win club.
He did not comment on how two summers of negotiations rankled him and prompted a stinging, personal request for owner Robert Sarver not to match Atlanta's five-year, $69.8 million offer. He signed for those terms, including $23 million in the first year.
The Johnson camp's discontent led Phoenix to pursue a sign and trade. A deal was hung up for three weeks by co-owner Steve Belkin, who agreed to a buyout Friday.
"I want the guy (Johnson) to do well and I wish him the best," said Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. "It's unfortunate his desires didn't fit our model of building a team."
Asked if there were not enough shots for the Suns' stars, Johnson told Hawks radio flagship WCXI, "That wasn't my purpose for leaving. I love playing with Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire. I'm great friends with those guys. My departure had nothing to do with them. It was other reasons . . . I had to do what's best for myself."
The Hawks will play Johnson at point, where he had spot duty with Phoenix. He will be part of a young core, like when the Suns began last season with the NBA's youngest roster.
"It was an experience that I'll cherish," he said. "I have a lot of memories. I still have a lot of fun. I keep in contact."
Phoenix acquires a $6 million exception that can offset a salary gap in a trade. The Suns will get Atlanta's first-round pick in 2006 if this season's Hawks make the playoffs. If not, they would get the pick in 2007 if it is not in the top three. There would be no conditions on the pick in 2008.
The other first-round pick may come next year. The Lakers owe Boston a first-round pick, but it is top-10 protected in 2006. Boston owes Atlanta a first-rounder, too. The least favorable of the Lakers' and Celtics' draft slots would go to Phoenix. The Suns only get the pick in a year the Lakers' pick moves to Boston. That Lakers' pick is top-five protected from 2007 to 2010.
Diaw, a 6-foot-8 guard, did not meet expectations of a No. 21 pick in two seasons with Atlanta. Diaw, 23, shot poorly while averaging 4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists but the Suns liked his minutes at point guard. Like Johnson, he fell out of a team's plans and had his passion questioned.
"We get a player with upside that will continue to grow," Colangelo said. "Hopefully, we'll get some of the same results we got from Johnson."
Colangelo said there was surprising patience from Johnson and his agent, Arn Tellem, during the trade's delays.
"Once we agreed to a deal and expressed that we'd honor that deal, we couldn't have gone back to the agent to negotiate a deal until they opened that door for us," he said.
"It certainly wasn't the intended result of our free-agency objective this summer, but we decided to turn the page and move on."
That includes a possible sign-and-trade deal for Indiana's James Jones.
The Suns are also vying to land Michael Finley, who visited with Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni at a wedding Thursday night.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0820suns0820.html
