Team awaits Johnson's reply to offer

[azdad1978]

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 6, 2005 12:00 AM

The Suns have made a contract offer to restricted free agent Joe Johnson and are waiting for Johnson's response.

Terms of the offer could not be confirmed, but it is known to be for less than the maximum amount allowed under league rules for free agents.

Johnson's agent, Arn Tellem, did not return a call seeking comment.



Other teams can negotiate with Johnson but cannot sign him to an offer sheet until July 22. If one does, Phoenix will have seven days to match the offer or lose Johnson without compensation.

The Suns have made it clear that re-signing Johnson is the top priority of the off-season, along with negotiating an extension with Amaré Stoudemire. The Suns have said they will match any offer that Johnson may receive.

Las Vegas bound
Backup point guard Leandro Barbosa, recent draft pick Dijon Thompson and 10 other players will represent the Suns in the Reebok Vegas Summer League.

Phoenix plays its first of six games at 5 p.m. today against Sacramento on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus.

This is Barbosa's third appearance with the summer league team.

Don't be surprised if his point totals are down this year because his focus, he said, will be on improving his defense.

"I think this is going to be very good for me," Barbosa said.

Roster, schedule, C8.

Free throws
Assistant coach Marc Iavaroni on what Ray Allen agreeing to re-sign with Seattle means to Iavaroni's chances of being offered Portland's head coaching job:

"There are all kinds of theories, but I don't get into theories."

Logic suggests that SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan, also a candidate for the Portland job, may remain with Seattle now that his star player is staying.


• The agent for center Steven Hunter said he has been "talking to a lot of teams" about his client, but that Hunter hasn't ruled out returning to the Suns.

"He had a great experience there," Mark Bartelstein said. "We're definitely going to keep that door open."



Republic reporter Bob Young contributed to this report.



http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0706sunsnb0706.html

 

[Amare32]

Summer leagur starts today? nice

hopfully the offer is a decent enough one for JJ and he agrees to It. Need to get him signed up as soon as possible.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

so if JJ knows that the Suns will match a max offer....but they offer below that...and no teams willing to match...does this not create ill will?????? I realize the suns would be smart to get JJ for what they can...but shouldnt they have gone through the league instaed of the press to let everyone know they will match...this can only creat resentment for JJ and his agen Tellem. The sooner he gets locked up the happier i am.............

 

[Arizona's Finest]

i meant offer a deal, not match in reference to other teams. my bad

 

[fordronken]

I don't remember them every saying to the media they'd match any offer. They apparently made it known to the other teams, which of course means the media knows.

 

[Amare32]

Only way people found out about It was from the insiders who were told that the Suns were telling other teams they would match any offer.

 

[Chaplin]

Offering a max offer to begin with is just plain stupid business sense, don't you think?

 

[sunsfn]

I would guess the suns made JJ a six year offer at less than the max, and maybe close to what he would have made if he accepted a 5 year offer from another team. I said close to what another team would offer, but probably less than that also. They will go back and forth and agree in a few days.

 

[Chaz]

The only thing that I think would create ill will is if the Suns try to lowball JJ.

I don't think that is the case. JJ has shown to be a great young player but he is hardly an established star like Ray Allen. He will be making a lot of money but it will probably be less than the max. All the Suns have to do is offer a bit more in total money than anyone else can offer. The Suns have the advantage of an extra year to work with.


It doesn't sound like Hunter has received the deal he wanted yet. He says he would like to return to the Suns but if someone had offered him the money he wants he would be gone already.

 

[elindholm]

It doesn't sound like Hunter has received the deal he wanted yet.

I think that's true, but most likely teams are first waiting to see where Swift, Curry, and Gadzuric go (to name a few). Hoopshype had a blurb this morning speculating that the Knicks might throw their MLE at Hunter, which is outrageous, but you never know.

 

[Chaz]

It doesn't sound like Hunter has received the deal he wanted yet.

I think that's true, but most likely teams are first waiting to see where Swift, Curry, and Gadzuric go (to name a few). Hoopshype had a blurb this morning speculating that the Knicks might throw their MLE at Hunter, which is outrageous, but you never know.

Yea, If they are running out of chairs when the music stops I could see NY doing something stupid like that. Hunter also has time on his side. So far he has the relative safety of a job waiting with the Suns.

It is not like the Suns have been publically pursuing any competition for his roster spot here.

 

[Mainstreet]

This is not new subject for me as I mentioned it last year.

I always said that if JJ was not resigned by the Suns (for a reasonable salary) before he became a RFA, the Suns might be forced economically into a sign and trade (with Marion at the max and Stoudemire soon to be at the max and Nash making a good chunk of change as well). I know the Suns will just not let JJ walk into Free Agency next year (if he cannot be resigned). Yes, there is no question the Suns can match any offer for JJ.

Now I know the Suns do not want to part with JJ (perhaps they would rather part with Marion), however, most teams are not going to have three max players on their roster. However, perhaps there are some successful examples out there.

This is where I'm going although probably not a popular direction.

Just out of curiosity, how much realistically could JJ (or perhaps Marion) fetch in a sign and trade if the Suns feel they are not going to keep paying these huge salaries and could actually such a trade scenario make the Suns a better team if the deal is right?

 

[SweetD]

Hunter is on a team that will win. If he goes for the money we will be back to loosing. I am sure the Suns have told him they would give him more money but they have to move Voskul before they can or take the one year and Howard's contract will be off the books and he can get a longer deal.

 

[devilalum]

I don't think that is the case. JJ has shown to be a great young player but he is hardly an established star like Ray Allen. He will be making a lot of money but it will probably be less than the max.

Allen is a good barometer. IMO most teams in the league if given a choice would choose JJ over Allen. Allen may be an All Star etc. but he's a lot older and JJ has more upside and is more versatile.

JJ should get at least as much as Allen. I'm sure his agent has said so.

 

[elindholm]

Just out of curiosity, how much realistically could JJ (or perhaps Marion) fetch in a sign and trade if the Suns feel they are not going to keep paying these huge salaries

The thing is, unless the star player acquired by the Suns had a shorter deal, it wouldn't save them any money. Say Johnson agrees to start at $9 million and the Suns do a sign-and-trade. They'll get back $9 million in return, more or less, so they have the same salary problem. If the new player has a shorter contract, all that does is shorten the window for the title run.

The Suns are looking at "only" three years of having four huge contracts: 2006, which is when Stoudemire's extension will start, through 2009, which is when Marion's contract is up. The first two of those years will be the worst financially, because they'll also have Kurt Thomas. So in the 2007-08 season, you're looking at close to $60 million in just five players. That's pretty steep.

On the other hand, the Suns are trying to win a title, and a two- or three-year window seems manageable for that kind of salary burden. By "manageable," I don't mean that I personally would want to pay it, but that it doesn't seem too out of line with what a lot of teams do when they think they are close to winning it all.

If the Suns take a big step back this season, I think it's very likely that either Marion or Johnson (most likely Marion) will be traded, as the team will try to position itself for a "second wave" run around Stoudemire and Johnson, once Nash is phased out. But if they win 55+ games and turn in another strong playoff showing, my guess is that they'll just bite the bullet and pay the salaries.

 

[SweetD]

Just out of curiosity, how much realistically could JJ (or perhaps Marion) fetch in a sign and trade if the Suns feel they are not going to keep paying these huge salaries

The thing is, unless the star player acquired by the Suns had a shorter deal, it wouldn't save them any money. Say Johnson agrees to start at $9 million and the Suns do a sign-and-trade. They'll get back $9 million in return, more or less, so they have the same salary problem. If the new player has a shorter contract, all that does is shorten the window for the title run.

The Suns are looking at "only" three years of having four huge contracts: 2006, which is when Stoudemire's extension will start, through 2009, which is when Marion's contract is up. The first two of those years will be the worst financially, because they'll also have Kurt Thomas. So in the 2007-08 season, you're looking at close to $60 million in just five players. That's pretty steep.

On the other hand, the Suns are trying to win a title, and a two- or three-year window seems manageable for that kind of salary burden. By "manageable," I don't mean that I personally would want to pay it, but that it doesn't seem too out of line with what a lot of teams do when they think they are close to winning it all.

If the Suns take a big step back this season, I think it's very likely that either Marion or Johnson (most likely Marion) will be traded, as the team will try to position itself for a "second wave" run around Stoudemire and Johnson, once Nash is phased out. But if they win 55+ games and turn in another strong playoff showing, my guess is that they'll just bite the bullet and pay the salaries.

One major point if we the fans sell out every game the team will not have to worry about the salaries. I am sure the CAP will go up every year and we will still have room to for more players.

 

[playstation]

If i'm the owner, and I'm sure Sarver is well aware of this, now is the time to most strongly think about opening up new revenue streams. capitalize on the immense popularity and attention his team is receiving. the 'coach for a day' thing was pretty smart, anything to get an extra buck.

I remember, back when Daniel Snyder first bought the redskins and paid out the yinyang for old guys everyone said its really gonna hurt his pocketbook. he just opened up all sorts of new revenue streams. today, the redskins are #1 in valuation, revenue, and operating income (over the cowboys, patriots, and everyone else in the nba, mlb, and nhl).

this here is a pretty good read:
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2004/09/06/cz_kb_0906mondaymatchup.html

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

One major point if we the fans sell out every game the team will not have to worry about the salaries.

That is a pretty big exageration...

 

[Mainstreet]

Just out of curiosity, how much realistically could JJ (or perhaps Marion) fetch in a sign and trade if the Suns feel they are not going to keep paying these huge salaries...

The thing is, unless the star player acquired by the Suns had a shorter deal, it wouldn't save them any money. Say Johnson agrees to start at $9 million and the Suns do a sign-and-trade. They'll get back $9 million in return, more or less, so they have the same salary problem. If the new player has a shorter contract, all that does is shorten the window for the title run

Thanks for your response, elindholm.

However I was really not looking at the salary situation specifically at least in regard to adding another player to match up with JJ's salary (although it would probably be possible) or just to save money. I know the salaries in a sign and trade would need to be close to matching up, if for example, the Suns had to trade JJ because he refused to sign (which I believe will not be the case).

Where I was trying to go (and probably doing a poor job of communicating it), if the Suns were somehow coerced into trading JJ what kind of player(s) could the Suns get in return? I would also try to include Voshkuhl (2 million salary) in any hypothetical sign and trade.

IMO, I would want a combination of players (and perhaps a pick or two) in return for JJ.

Just for a brain storming exercise, let's say the Bucks showed interest in JJ (probably not likely). Could the Suns say get Pachulia, Gadzuric and perhaps a backup PG/ picks in return that would only total 9-11 million. I got to 11 million by including Voshkuhl in the deal.

Let me make it clear, I'm not proposing this particular sign and trade with this team, but what kind of package could the Suns get from any NBA team for JJ. I personally would be inclined to want a package of young talent in return and possibly some draft picks if the math would work.

If the right players were involved (not just the ones I tossed out there) could the Suns actually improve their team in a sign and trade scenario?

Please, I not advocating trading JJ, but just tossing around the idea if the Suns were somehow pushed into a sign and trade scenario by an unhappy JJ.

 

[cly2tw]

Both JJ and Marion would fetch Gadzuric + Mason from the Bucks. If the past playoff games are any indication, only Amare and Nash, plus enough rest for Nash, are indispensible to win. If Joe could be replaced with JimJ without big problem, Marion can be replaced by Mason as well. For regular season, we might lose a couple more games though due to Marion's departure.

 

[Billythekid]

Replacing Marion and JJ with Gadzuric and Mason would be a disaster.

I've been watching back a lot of games from this past season and he was just everywhere. Unfortunately a lot of what he does doesn't show up on the stat sheet but IMO we can't afford to lose this guy.

Having Shawn back at the 3 spot will be very important to our chances of winning a title.

 

[elindholm]

Could the Suns say get Pachulia, Gadzuric and perhaps a backup PG/ picks in return that would only total 9-11 million.

Got it, I understand what you are saying now. Yes, I would certainly hope that Johnson or Marion alone could fetch that kind of package. The Suns should be able to do a lot better than that if that's what it comes to.

 

[sunsfn]

Both JJ and Marion would fetch Gadzuric + Mason from the Bucks. If the past playoff games are any indication, only Amare and Nash, plus enough rest for Nash, are indispensible to win. If Joe could be replaced with JimJ without big problem, Marion can be replaced by Mason as well. For regular season, we might lose a couple more games though due to Marion's departure.

I had to read this post a few times just to make sure I read it right.

You are trading JJ for Gadzuric, and Marion for Mason.

There are people on this board (no names )that may overvalue the suns players, but cly2tw, "you will never" be accused of being a homer.


-

 

[Cheesebeef]

Both JJ and Marion would fetch Gadzuric + Mason from the Bucks. If the past playoff games are any indication, only Amare and Nash, plus enough rest for Nash, are indispensible to win. If Joe could be replaced with JimJ without big problem, Marion can be replaced by Mason as well. For regular season, we might lose a couple more games though due to Marion's departure.

that could possibly be the WORST idea I've ever seen.

 

[George O'Brien]

that could possibly be the WORST idea I've ever seen.

Come on Cheese, we routinely get incredibly horrible trade proposals every day. But I'll grant, you it is certainly AMONG the worst.