Atlanta Hawks: J.J. Flirts With Miami Heat
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald reports that J.J. says the Heat is a “great situation” and that he’s willing to switch from shooting guard to small forward to play alongside Dwyane Wade. The interest between J.J. and the Heat is mutual, according to Wallace.
It’s hard to get a read on Johnson regarding free agency. Depending on which day you asked him, he was liable to stick to his “keeping all my options open, we’ll see what happens” line, go with the “I’d love to stay in Atlanta” stance or occasionally let slip the flirtatious signals he sent to the Heat via Wallace. Is Johnson just being a good businessman or does he really want to leave the Hawks? He insisted that the way the season ended, with fans booing him off the court in what could be his final game, didn’t sour him on staying.
J.J. has said before that he doesn’t care about being The Man. Of course, like all players, he would like to be paid like The Man. And if the Heat strikes out on LeBron and decide J.J. is their guy, they’ll have to make the same determination as the Hawks: Can J.J. abandon the deliberate, ball-dominating offensive style he slid into with the Hawks? As bad it was at times with the Hawks, imagine how well Iso-Joe would play when D-Wade is option No. 1.
My feeling is the Hawks haven’t ruled out the possibility that J.J. can change his style if surrounded by the proper personnel and with some strong urging from the coach. He wasn’t Iso-Joe in Phoenix, after all. But neither was he The Man there, so it’s no certainty that he can modify his game.
MC
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315 comments Add your comment
My Voice
May 12th, 2010
9:10 pm
One poster said that Joe Johnson should stay here,if he wants to be the man.You can’t be serious! Joe is not a leader and all he does is mumble like a fool.Dude is soft.I remember when little Mo Williams punked him last year.
My Voice
May 12th, 2010
9:13 pm
One poster says that Joe will win big if he ‘teams with another superstar’…Sweetie,when did Joe Johnson become a superstar?He is a superstar in his own mind.I think his country fried azz need to leave Atlanta like yesterday.I can’t deal with these scrubs any longer.
vava74
May 12th, 2010
9:14 pm
so much of this chatter can be framed and put into perspective by listening to this:
http://www.stationcaster.com/player.php?s=87&c=671&f=47825
please, everyone who has even a remote interest in the Hawks must hear the 20 minutes in which Hubie talks about us
northcyde
May 12th, 2010
9:15 pm
DawgBoi . . to get Wade here, you’d have to start with talking about trading Josh Smith, and possibly Jamal Crawford. And then we’d have to hope that D-Wade would WANT to leave Miami to come to ATL
And before we did that, we’d probably have to sign JJ to a big deal first, to get him to come here. If we didn’t we’d have to tell Wade that he can be successful here, playing with Horford, Marvin, and Teague. So you’d at least need JJ here with those guys, to sweeten the pot for Wade.
Then you’ll have to deal with the business side of things. With Wade making thr MAX, and JJ making close to it, we’d be either near the luxury tax, or right over it. And once Horford gets a huge offer sheet next summer ( if we don’t sign him to an extension during the season ), he’ll be making close to 11 – 14 mill a year himself. And that would DEFINITELY put us over the Luxury Tax.
Miami and the rest of the real good playoff teams, don’t mind paying it . . if they’re going to be good.
Our ownership would do everything in their power NOT to pay the luxury tax. The Hawks don’t generate enough income via home games, and these owners seem to be cash strapped since day 1.
Then you have Pat Riley talking about he may want to coach again, which doesn’t help anything for us. He has 6 rings . . while the replacement we may bring in for Woody will have 0 rings.
Then you have an added situation with D-Wade’s fine girlfriend . . Gabrielle Union . . who flat out LOVES MIAMI. Atlanta is a good celeb city, but it has nothing on L.A. or Miami.
*******
So in other words . . . . there’s no wa in hell the Hawks could obtain D-Wade.
Sorry man.
robdawg08
May 12th, 2010
9:16 pm
Davenpoo, the Hawks can’t let JJ go and use his money to sign Bosh ? Why not ? I’m asking you ?
gcs
May 12th, 2010
9:17 pm
Of course he is interested in Miami. Who wouldn’t be. Get in line bridge-burner.
.
O'Brien
May 12th, 2010
9:43 pm
Hawks have 2 trade assets. Crawford and Josh Smith. Crawford is the SMOY and a $10 mil expiring contract, and josh has 3 years $37 mil left on his.
I am open to trading either, neither or both.
northcyde
May 12th, 2010
9:45 pm
And my last post applies for all top level players.
The only way to get them here, is via a sign and trade involvng Josh Smith and at least one other person. They would ALL probably want Crawford, seeing that he does have scoring talent and most importantly, his contract expires next summer.
And the top level guy would have to WANT to come here, for whatever reason.
We are highly unlikely to get an All-Star caliberplayer for JJ in a sign and trade. We may get a player a notch or two below JJ, but he more than likely won’t be on the same level.
When you see people throwing out names like John Salmons to replace JJ, you get a feel of how serious this situation is. At the very least, hopefully we can get back a starting caliber PG and maybe even a decent C.
But there’s a decent possibility that we may get back nada . . zero . . zip.
When we traded Acie and Speedy for Crawford, that took us out of the 2010 free agent race. Crawford represents 10 million in additional cap room the Hawks could’ve had this year. Bibby represents around 6 million that could’ve been off the books.
The ownership made a decision to try to be successful now ( by trading for Crawford and re-signing Bibby, Marvin, and Zaza ), instead of taking a chance with Law and Teague running the team.
We won over 50 games for the first time in 12 yrs, so it’s hard to 2nd guess that decision.
lewis
May 12th, 2010
9:47 pm
cleveland’s organization is going through the same exact thing. Their head coach is a joke. Lebron is a good leader but not a GREAT leader. Mo Williams getting schooled by Rondo, Antawn Jamison by Garnett.
They run an extremely simplistic ISO offense as well, and are lacking intensity on defense. Boobie Gibson, who led them to the ECF last year, and according to Brown is their best on the ball defender, has seen no playing time. the consensus is that lebron will leave.
the best thing lebron did was sign that pesky little 3 year extension. They very well may lose him and gain nothing in return. same goes for joe.
saywhat
May 12th, 2010
9:49 pm
MannyT
May 12th, 2010
4:29 pm
For you folks on the I hate JJ after he dissed the fans thing…I get it. I cannot apologize for him, but I am over that deal. He was upset and few people like getting booed by the home fans. Making lots of money doesn’t mean that your feelings disappear…only your privacy
JJ earned his money on that 5 yr/ $70 mil deal he signed to come here when no one else would except for a few carpet baggers that wanted to steal money (Curry, Dampier). At that time he was a 4th option on a really good team. Joe doesn’t whine about calls, he played more/better perimeter D and O here than anyone else during the last 5 years.
This is probably his last big NBA contract. He’s positioning himself to get paid. Maybe it’s here; maybe it’s not. In order to maximize his earning power, he has to sell the willingness to leave even if he doesn’t want to go.
That’s his real job.
If you had one shot to get a big payday wouldn’t you keep an open mind with all the organizations that could potentially provide the big check?
We don’t have to like it, but we don’t have to be so bitter either. That’s your choice.
BWLFW
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SO SO SO SO SO TRUE, PREACH MY BROTHER!!!!
DawgBoi
May 12th, 2010
9:52 pm
then our best option is to re-sign johnson and find the next great coach..
darrell starks
May 12th, 2010
9:55 pm
ROBDAWG08 that what i want 2 no how in the h are you going 2 even have a chance if you dont have the player 2 do so, the team that are successful all have star players on there team.
1.LAKERS KOBE, PAU GASOL
2.SUNS AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE, STEVE NASH
3.CAVS LEBRON, JAMINSON
4.CELTICS RONDO, RAY, PAUL, GARNETT
5.MAGIC HOWARD, VINCE, NELSON. LEWIS
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
northcyde
May 12th, 2010
10:07 pm
These are the terms and phrases that people need to fully know the meanings of, before talking about what the Hawks can and cannot do this summer:
- salary cap
- luxury tax
- unrestricted free agent
- sign and trade
- cap hold
If you don’t have a full understanding of what these 5 terms mean, then you will continue to wonder why the Hawks just can’t go out and make a deal for one of these star players.
This is not baseball, in which if you have the money, you can just go out and get any player you want, if you have the money. In baseball, you have the big money teams basically going out and buying up all of the good players. Small money ( or small market teams ) don’t have the money to spend on established star players, so they have to win with lower payrolls and younger talent.
Basketball at least tries to even the playing field somewhat, by having a salary cap that all teams go by. But even in this system, the big money teams can trade with small money teams, to obtain star players that the small money team doesn’t want to pay a lot of money for. They have to do it within the rules of the system, but the big money teams seem to always find a way to get the players they want.
My Voice
May 12th, 2010
10:14 pm
There is no way that D- Wade or Lebron would play in Atlanta so let that daydream go once and for all…..Joe Johnson needs to go because he obviously don’t want to play in Atlanta.There is no excuse for a player making millions playing basketball to disrespect the fans on no basis.One of the biggest issues with fans in Atlanta is that you hold no one accountable….
ryan
May 12th, 2010
10:24 pm
I say the Hawks should not let Joe Johnson stay in the divison don’t just give Joe what he wants after what he did. You do a sign and trade make him go out west or to the Raptors . The Hawks have get something for him. I would trade for Carmello Anthony or Chris Bosh.
northcyde
May 12th, 2010
10:45 pm
I think some of you better read the new article posted on the AJC Hawks page. Rick Sund speaks on what the Hawks will do with Woody, JJ, and even Childress.
Grandad
May 12th, 2010
10:46 pm
Joe can sign anywhere he wants and we can’t do anything
about it UNLESS he wishes OR the OTHER TEAM wishes to
give him that Xtra YEAR! We are NOT in control. Joe’s
AGENT is in charge here!!! S&T exists ONLY if his AGENT
wants it to!!!
Grandad
May 12th, 2010
10:54 pm
For all: [I tried to link it / once again techno impaired]
Larry Coon’s:
NBA Salary Cap
FAQ
Type it in / read it / maybe it will get you up to speed.
I don’t know nothin’.
I’m only trying to help.
lewis
May 12th, 2010
10:56 pm
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/wan/1734814253.html – joe’s looking for a new job
Eric C.
May 12th, 2010
11:04 pm
Joe Johnson is poisoning the Hawks…please let him go to Miami.
Grandad
May 12th, 2010
11:10 pm
nire alert or najeh/sautee anyone?
Correct me if I’m wrong but in the article nc is referring,
Mr. Sund says he will extend Childress a qual. off. if he
opts out of euro contract. [Possible S&T] However, Chidress
can seek an offer fom another team? Correct? Which would
in turn allow us to match or S&T.
The key is we could match, thus J.Childress could still
remain here AND recieve MORE than just the qual. off.?
Motivation to return to Atl.
+
Greek econ. in the dumper.
that year 2000
May 12th, 2010
11:14 pm
well sund wants to keep Joe cause they know they can’t find anybody else on the free agent market they can afford #that’s f’d up!!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 12th, 2010
11:18 pm
“Davenpoo, the Hawks can’t let JJ go and use his money to sign Bosh ? Why not ? I’m asking you ?”
The Hawks are over the cap with Joe. If Joe leaves, they will be under the cap, but not by enough to add a max contract, which is what Bosh will require.
And anyway, I don’t get everyone’s fascination with Bosh. He is even less of a franchise player than Joe (he’s never won 53 games or made it to the second round), his defense is terrible, and he would be a million times worse than Horford at guarding Howard because he is built like a stick figure. If you just want a guy who will get you 20 points and 10 boards, go get David Lee, Carlos Boozer, or Zach Randolph for far less money than Bosh and you can end up with the same result in the win column.
MannyT
May 12th, 2010
11:24 pm
@Grandad
NBA essentially ignores Childress’s status in Greece. When he left the NBA he was a restricted free agent (RFA). For the Hawks to keep him in that status, they have to tender him an offer each summer. He follows all of the RFA rules of the NBA. Hawks have his rights and right to match any offer.
In the real world, Josh has to tell Olympiacos by July 15th if he is opting out of his deal there. That gives him/his agent a small window to talk with the Hawks about a contract with us or a sign & trade with another team. He has to go through the Hawks to get back in the NBA.
Here is your Larry Coon link for all things cap related.
You can also follow him on Twitter (@LarryCoon)
BWLFW
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
11:25 pm
Bryce VI ,
If you’re out there, respond. I have some stats for you that I posted during the season. You weren’t around, so you didn’t see them, is my guess. You asked, and you shall receive. If you have the guts, that is.
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
11:26 pm
It’s amazing what people are proposing for signing, trading, etc. Wait, it’s NOT amazaing. This insanity happens every summer. Been seeing it on this very same blog for the last 5 years.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 12th, 2010
11:28 pm
If you want to trade Smoove + pieces to get Bosh on top of keeping Joe, that’s a move I can understand, although not one I support — a Joe-Bosh tandem would be tough to stop from scoring and might advance much further than either player individually, even though I’m not sure what you lose defensively downgrading from Smoove to Bosh doesn’t cancel out Bosh’s advantage as a scorer. But there is no way the Hawks can sign Bosh outright, and there is no way Smoove and Bosh can both start on the same team.
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
11:30 pm
Like everybody else has said, the Hubie Brown interview was great.
Only one problem.
I’m sick to death of people outside the Hawks organization knowing what went wrong, what is wrong, and possibly how to fix it. This is good for nothing other than bloggers patting themselves on the back because they found where some expert agrees with what they’ve posted on this blog.
What we really need is for somebody within the organization to recognize what is going wrong, and how to fix it. We can only hope that Sund proves to be that guy. Again, it’s nice to hear commentary from Hubie Brown. But it’s doing us not one bit of good if some of that vision is not shared by those who are directly involved in this organization.
Summer of Sund has begun.
terrell
May 12th, 2010
11:32 pm
Horford isn’t a center at 6′10, but David Lee is at 6′9?
Aaron
May 12th, 2010
11:35 pm
One of my favorite points from Hubie Browns interview was what he stressed about not basing your opinion of what a player based upon what they have done on a bad team. Keep in mind that there is a lot more freedom and much less pressure on a team which virtually has nothing to lose. Some of you who are recommending signing guys like Bosh and David Lee (signing this guy really makes no sense at all), should take that into consideration.
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
11:36 pm
“If you want to trade Smoove + pieces to get Bosh on top of keeping Joe, that’s a move I can understand, although not one I support — a Joe-Bosh tandem would be tough to stop from scoring and might advance much further than either player individually, even though I’m not sure what you lose defensively downgrading from Smoove to Bosh doesn’t cancel out Bosh’s advantage as a scorer. But there is no way the Hawks can sign Bosh outright, and there is no way Smoove and Bosh can both start on the same team.”
Co-sign that. For me, step one would be to sign a coach who can maximize that situation. Bosh is not nearly the defender that Josh is when he’s locked on to what he’s doing. On the flip side, Bosh is over 6′11″ in shoes and has a 7′ 3.5″ wingspan. Put a coach in here who can persuade Bosh to put more effort into his defense, and more importantly gets the entire team to buy into it, and you have a guy who can bother people with his length, even though he won’t block 2 shots per game.
Also, Bosh is a 20/10 guy. More than that, actually. The chemistry he could conceivably brew up with a heady player like Al Horford is downright scary. For that, I’d trade Josh Smith. Especially if we upgraded at PG. I could live with Horford a the 5, Bosh and the 4, and either an improved Marvin (or a replacement for his spot in the starting lineup).
But you have to have the right coach. That guy ain’t Woody, sorry.
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
11:39 pm
Trading Josh for Bosh involves a plethora of other moves for it to work. Above all others, get a better coach in here.
And I have no problems with Joe staying. The offensive approach must be changed almost entirely, and there has to be another go-to guy. Joe can’t be our head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest guy anymore. It does not work.
Bryce IV
May 12th, 2010
11:40 pm
Big Ray,
I’m here now. What is it that you are so anxious to show me?
By the way, if you posted something else earlier in the day in regards to me earlier, I have not yet seen it at this point, I’m away during most of the day. I have only seen your previous post to me on this page.
Also, are comments like “if you have the guts” really necessary? Lets try to keep things mature here, shall we?
terrell
May 12th, 2010
11:41 pm
Horford for Haywood and Butler? What are some of you guys smoking? Seriously. Those guys are maxed out as players. Horford is still getting better. If the Hawks made that trade, I’d…..
Bryce IV
May 12th, 2010
11:46 pm
Also, in regards to trade deals that involve Chris Bosh for Smoove, I’d just like to throw in that there’s no guarantee that Bosh would produce at the rate he has in Toronto if he were here in Atlanta.
Aaron actually made a pretty good point above. From what I recall, Bosh doesn’t play on a team with any other strong rebounding big man, so his 10+ rebounds/game in Toronto may decrease if he were playing alongside Horford.
Additionally, I can’t imagine Bosh still getting enough shots to put up 20 ppg every night if he played on the same team with JJ and Jamal Crawford. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but I’m not confident that Bosh’s production would be as impressive in Atlanta as it has been over the last couple of years in Toronto.
Grandad
May 12th, 2010
11:47 pm
MannyT – I was pretty certain I had it correct.
I just wanted to make sure we could keep Childress
w/o him being locked in to the 4.5 mentioned in the article.
Sund seemed a little in the S&T mode or 4.5 was all JC was
gonna get from us. I knew the date & all, just wanted to
make sure we could match. I got the feeling / whether it’s
the $ or Josh has pissed in someone’s wheaties but we were
not going all in for Childress.
Thanks for responding!
Grandad
May 12th, 2010
11:52 pm
terrell?
Horford for Haywood and Butler?
Did I miss one?
Haywood is unrestricted.
Signing him outright is pos.
Unless;
they’re:
Talkin about ‘Spencer’….he’s retired, like me.
terrell
May 13th, 2010
12:02 am
Sign and trade JJ to Chicago for Noah and Hinrich
Trade Josh Smith and Bibby’s contract to Memphis for Rudy Gay and Ronnie Brewer
Starters: Hinrich//Brewer/Gay/Horford/Noah
Bench: Teague/Crawford/Marvin/draft pick/Zaza
Coach: 1.Jeff Van Gundy
2. Byron Scott
3. Bill Laimbeer
4. Dwayne Casey
Rufus1
May 13th, 2010
12:03 am
Lebron…Atlanta
Could someone please tell me why he would not come to Atl if he going to leave Cleveland…I know can’t afford to sign him as a free agent, but sign and trade.
All you people saying it is a crazy dream to think Lebron would come to Atlanta…please explain why.
New York..has not talent..Lottery team
Miami…They only have Wade..that is it.(no Haslem or o’neal)
Chicago…They have less than his current team…Does want to live in the shadow of Jordan?
Clippers…You can’t be serious..lottery
Atlanta..2 Allstars, SMOY, Defensive 2nd place, Off the court revenue(10-20mil a year) all our players are in the prime of there careers and MLE+++the Phillips would be sold out every night, Celebrity’s, the City, advertising revenues would increase and ASG would be willing to spend above the cap to get a championship.
Atlanta is the only team that gives him a chance to get past Orlando…We won 53 games without him.
Grandad
May 13th, 2010
12:05 am
Big Ray – I don’t know if you heard the interview, but,
Hubie didn’t come across in any kind of negative way.
In my humble opinion.
His statements were very much on point.
They were not hateful in any way.
It was as enlightening as any interview I’ve heard.
NOT your typical espn garbage.
He stayed within guideline as if he were scouting
the Hawks or running a coaches clinic.
If you heard it and were disappointed, then I’m sorry.
If not, please access. [680the fan(vault)Rude awakening]
Hope you enjoy.
Greg
May 13th, 2010
12:07 am
That’s a pretty good argument on Lebron considering Atlanta, Rufus1. I think your comments may open a few people’s eyes on the possibilities.
Grandad
May 13th, 2010
12:08 am
Rufus1——-> ”NIKE”
terrell
May 13th, 2010
12:10 am
.uck Lebron! His playoff performance last night was worse than JJ’s. Plus, I’m tired of Iso’s.
Lebron is not coming
May 13th, 2010
12:16 am
There is no way Lebron would sign with Atlanta. His ego is way too large. This city does not support its teams – not the fans, not the sports guys on the radio, and definitely not these subpar reporters who watch 10% of the games and bitch about everything that is wrong. Lebron plays the same offense as Joe only he’s stronger, quicker, and more athletic, but it is still isolations and it gets his team nowhere. If Boston hadn’t collapsed in game 1 that series would be over.
Mitch
May 13th, 2010
12:17 am
Would anyone else like to see Devin Harris and Courtney Lee come to ATL in a package that involves Joe Johnson? Someone posted about that scenario earlier today and I kind of liked the idea.
Rufus1
May 13th, 2010
12:19 am
Grandad
We are a top ten market and the 4th best NBA Market….Winning Championships in Atlanta is better the losing in New York or Chicago.
Nike has already paid Lebron….plus this ATLANTA not Milwaukee…ATLANTA an international city…the capitol of the southeast…Stop selling this city short.
Big Ray
May 13th, 2010
12:21 am
Grandad ,
I have no issues with Hubie Brown whatsoever. If he hadn’t sworn off coaching, I’d send every emissary I could to recruit him here as a coach. I have a problem with “other people” continuously coming up with what appears to be “dead on” analysis about what this team lacks, and how to resolve those issues.
Why is this knowledge not apparent among the Hawks organization. Again, I love Brown. I just hope that Sund can see some of what guys like Brown see. Because Woody sure doesn’t.
That’s my gripe.
bonquesha
May 13th, 2010
12:21 am
@terrell – Thank you. Lebron has been inconsistent and there is no excuse for the “King” to lose by 32 points at home. All of these so-called sports reporters are too busy jock riding to call a spade a spade.
Rufus1
May 13th, 2010
12:23 am
JOE
Joe will never sign with New York or Chicago…Too much pressure. The reason he would consider Miami, because it fans our similar to Atl. 80% Joe returns
Big Ray
May 13th, 2010
12:26 am
Bryce ,
Mature? My, do we really take this blogging thing so seriously? I’m yanking your chain to see if you’re up for this discussion, or if you’re merely wishing to engage in some internet ninja bravado. You didn’t take the bait too much, so I have hopes.
I’ll get to you in a minute. This is a small sample size I’ll be putting out, so please do not make the following assumptions:
1) That I think Teague should have started, or deserves to start right now.
2) That I think Teague is the absolute answer to our point guard woes.
3) That any set of limited statistics is actual “proof”, rather than simply a basis for opinion.
Having said that, this is what I meant when I said “you don’t get it” in the first place. There are those who blurt out that Teague should have been handed the reins to this team from the get-go, or that he is guaranteed to be the pg we’ve been needing. Then there are those of us who think that giving him more than 10 mpg would have been a good thing, mostly for the purpose of finding out what he’s capable of.
Nobody said anything about deserving more minutes. What makes any rookie “deserve” minutes?