Atlanta Hawks: J.J. to Mavs, Knicks, Bulls, Rockets . . . or Hawks?
Is there cash in that boot?
Another day, another Joe Johnson rumor.
This time it’s Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reporting that the Mavericks are interested in acquiring J.J. They are over the salary cap, so the only way to do that would be through a sign-and-trade agreement. That means J.J. would have to want to play for the Mavs and Dallas and Atlanta would have to come to an agreement on a trade.
The key line in Wojnarowski’s story is this: “Johnson is determined to get the sixth guaranteed season on a contract that could only come with re-signing in Atlanta or a sign-and-trade arrangement, sources say.” This is along the lines of what I’ve been saying all along, that guys just don’t leave $25-$30 million on the table. The signals being sent out by J.J,’s camp are clear: If Atlanta offers the most cash, Johnson will re-sign. If not, he will look elsewhere. What’s not clear is if the Hawks are willing to pay J.J. the max if that’s what it takes to keep him.
The thing to remember when all of these stories leak (in addition to the fact that leakers always have an agenda) is that no one knows for sure what J.J. is going to do. Last week the word was J.J. was ready to make an early commitment to Chicago. Then he was willing to take less cash to play for the Knicks. Now the latest is that he really wants a sign-and-trade, and perhaps he will look at Dallas (or Houston, as an enticement for Bosh to also sign there).
The AJC’s Mark Bradley asks if Atlanta wants J.J. back and that’s a good question. He mentions how the city of Cleveland has pretty much begged LeBron to come back. Bradley is talking about the fans, but it also seems the Hawks organization has been relatively subdued in its public recruitment of J.J. as compared to the teams of other top free agents.
In Miami, for instance, the Heat have gone all out to show the love for D-Wade. There’s been no reason to guess if the Heat wants D-Wade and if they will pay the max to make it happen. You can say that’s because it’s a no-brainer for Miami to pay D-Wade the max, and you would be correct. However, the Heat also went crazy for Udonis Haslem, who is a good player but not a star.
Hawks management, meanwhile, has been pretty quiet in regards to J.J. Soon after the season ended GM Rick Sund said the Hawks will do all they can to re-sign J.J. and has repeated that statement a couple times. But that’s been about it as far as public pleadings for J.J. by Atlanta’s brass. That hasn’t changed even as all these stories surface suggesting that other teams are ready to make aggressive pushes for J.J.
Anyway, we will soon see how it all plays out. I’m sticking with my belief that J.J. will re-sign with the Hawks if they offer the most money. They are still in control of this process.
MC
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278 comments Add your comment
MojoD
June 29th, 2010
1:00 pm
Why would any of you want to bring Joe Johnson back? Why? After what he showed in the playoffs. Lack of any emotions whatsoever. Hell, the only Hawk I saw busting it out the whole game even when down by 25+ was Al Horford. Now I think we should definitely do a sign and trade if at all possible rather than just letting JJ leave. But if you’re going to fire your coach who bumped the win totals up 6 years in a row and then lose your star player, you better have big plans to make up for such. I’m tired of ASG and have no intentions on supporting them if they don’t make some serious changes. It’s not the player’s fault the owners are a bunch of idiots. I would like to see a sign and trade. Dallas makes sense. There are other teams out there and possible multi team trades that would make sense. I’d love Caron Butler and John Salmons here in the Atl. What are the chances? I don’t know, but don’t just let Joe walk for nothing. At least get a few expiring contracts so we can one day sign a big name free agent.
O'Brien
June 29th, 2010
1:00 pm
Ramon,
It has been documented that there has been Chemistry issues with the team. What we don’t know is who’s to blame. Was it Josh? Was it Woody? Was it Jamal? So ryan is just speculating.
lewis,
We cannot put it all on Josh. Because what was Woody doing when Josh was hoisting up these 3s? I remember an article where Josh said Woody does not give him too much grief about his ill-advised shots because Woody knows how he does many other things well. Where was Woody when Josh was sulking and taking plays off? Standing there with his arms folded.
I dont think Al and Joe would love for Josh to leave. Josh is a game changer on defense, 2nd in NBA DPOY, and all NBA defense. I’m sure what Al and Jow would like to see, is for Josh to have better sshot selection, and better focus.
However, given Al’s comment about needing help (which we obviously do), I hope Sund is actively looking for somebody to help rebound and defend the bigger guys. And if trading Josh makes the team better, so be it.
Nate ArchiBALL
June 29th, 2010
1:03 pm
Shaun Livingston would be a great back up PG. He definitely brings more to the table than Mario West ever will. Fill your bench with quality basketball players.
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
1:03 pm
nobody:
I think maybe I understood…..
sometimes I just decide to go off on a tangent.
No harm, no foul.
-Seriously-
nothing negative directed @ you.
+Plus+
I’m real Big on *[High Character/Team] guys in B-ball.
*Horford = Battier = Rodman = Oakley = Hondo = Bill Russell.
*Seems incongruent…doesn’t it.
-Also-
I agree about the negative crap in sports/athletics these days.
Steroids.gambling.guns.infidelity.ME 1st mentality.Dawg fightin’
………………………………………………………..
Now I’m depressed.
kelvin davis
June 29th, 2010
1:30 pm
Now when I sit here and think about it I believe that Joe will resign with us for the max. Yes he had a rough playoff series against the Magics but it was out of frustration and we as the fans didn’t make it easy for him by talking about him. But It would make since for us to sign him to the max, maybe work a trade for Chris Paul. Jamal Crawford and Al Horford are the only guys who aren’t touchable on the Hawks, but I do believe Joe will stay.
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
1:41 pm
OBRIEN
Word is allegedly, in the Milwaukee series Joe got in Josh’s and a few others faces for
being immature and unprofessional: word is Joe was very vocal in that regard.
1. Josh tried to be Like Noah and said, “Everybody knows there is nothing to do in Milwaukee!”
& “Maybe, ill go to Ruth Chris’ Steak House.”. Only to find, there isn’t a Ruth Chris’ in Milwaukee!
Josh, single handedly fired up the City and the Bucks and provided them with instant motivation and blackIboard material!
2. When checking into the Hotel, there were 3 stretch Hummer Limos parked out front and
Woodson asked the clerk what celebrity was in town? Later, Woodson realized that
Josh had ordered the Limos and was headed to Chicago (approx. 1.5 hours away) for a night out.
Joe’s stance was: Nothing to do? How about win a game! In regards to the Limos?
Joe’s stance was: This is a business trip and not a family vacation!
I don’t think Josh was very receptive to the admonishment from Joe. = Chemistry Issues.
O'Brien
June 29th, 2010
2:31 pm
drmaryb,
From day 1, Drew said he wants Josh to be in the post, not on the perimeter. In 6 years, did we ever hear that from Woody?
So how much of Josh’s attitude was a result of Woody letting him do whatever he wants? Drew knows the issues, including Josh and his bad habits, so I suspect Drew will do a better job of getting Josh to buy in and be more focused. And if Josh does not follow along, I think he will be held accountable. Something Woody never did.
If I’m Drew, I’m in JJ’s ears telling him “I know what the chemistry issues are, I know who the problems are. Here is what I can do to fix them. And Rick has my back”.
And Rick should say “JJ, I’m behind Larry, so there will be more accountability. And here is your 6 year max deal”.
lewis
June 29th, 2010
3:06 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab9aoQkMVls
Hoops
June 29th, 2010
3:09 pm
Here’s your line up Hawks fans if you sign JJ and trade Bibby/Evans/Zaza for Chandler:
PG-Teague, Livingston
SG-JJ, Crawford, Crawford2
SF-Childress, Marvin
PF-Josh, Morris
C-Horford, Chandler, Siler
Here’s your line up if we S&T JJ with Dallas & trade Bibby/Evans/Zaza for Chandler:
PG-Teague, Crawford, Livingston
SG-Childress,Crawford2
SF-Butler, Marvin
PF-Horford, Josh, Morris
C-Chandler, Haywood, Siler
I believe that the secong line up is better!
Sautee
June 29th, 2010
3:19 pm
Hoops,
What possible motivation would CHA have for accepting that trade?
Joe Don't Go Squad
June 29th, 2010
6:24 pm
http://joe_dont_go.webstarts.com/index.html
Taylor
June 29th, 2010
6:35 pm
Knowing what I know from dallasbasketball.com…. Beaubois will only be included in a trade for a #1 option next to Dirk. The assets Dallas is willing to give up for Joe….
Butler
Dampier
3 first round draft picks (2011, 2013, 2015)
No. 25 overall Dominique Jones
Any deal such as Butler/Beaubois….Dampier/Beaubois….. Atlanta wins. Cuban isn’t very willing to let him go.
Taylor
June 29th, 2010
6:40 pm
And Haywood. Dallas is after Gortat, Chandler or Jefferson so I assume Cuban would be willing to part with him for JJ
dap01
June 29th, 2010
7:42 pm
I would rather JJ not play with the Hawks, S&T him.
Ken Strickland
June 29th, 2010
9:06 pm
GEEMACK-according to what I read, he becomes the problem of the team that signs him, and his cap charge to us is wiped off. That’s what makes JChildress’ situation so intriguing. If we resign him, we get an excellent player for well under his value, since all of his leverage is gone. On the other hand, because of a quirk in the rules, his base salary has been multiplied by 3, and we’d be stuck with his high $10.9M CAP charge. I doubt seriously if we could sign a player with his overall skills, maturity, high basketball IQ, versatility and efficiency for anywhere near $4-5M.
If all we managed to do is sign JJ, Chills, and a center with our MLE, we would have a damned good team.
STARTERS:
PG-JTeague
SG-JJ
SF-Childress
PF-JSmith
C-AHorford
BENCH:
JaCrawford
ZPachulia
MWilliams
MBibby
JoCrawford
MEvans
MLE(center)
A team comprised of these players could be both exciting and deadly.
Chief Long Rod
June 29th, 2010
9:24 pm
Sign and trade jj and jsmoove for millsap or boozer and Hayward from Utah
pg: teague
sg: Jamal
sf: hayward
pf: horford or millsap
c: horford or boozer
Chief Long Rod
June 29th, 2010
9:27 pm
Sign and trade jj and smoove for al Jefferson and Wes Johnson from the twolves
pg: teague
sg: Jamal
sf: Wes Johnson
pf: horford
c: Jefferson
Hoops
June 29th, 2010
9:36 pm
Sautee,
The Bobcats have been rumored for a while to want to trade Chandler to get rid of that contract. Evans has an expiring contract. Zaza would be a replacement big for Chandler that has a reasonable contract. Bibby has to be included to make the trade legal by NBA trade rules and he is a shooter off the bench. I would push for this trade hard. Chandler could help the Hawks @ the center position if he passes his physical and is healthy again and he has an expiring contract.
Ken Strickland
June 29th, 2010
9:45 pm
RUFUS1-JJ can still get a max 6yr contract without agreeing to become a Hawk. All he has to do is insist on a sign and trade, and if we agree, we will sign him to a max 6yr contract, and then trade him and that contract to the team he wants to play for.
If I was a HC or GM, I’d be very leery of signing AStaudemire. He doesn’t play much DEF, and there’s no way of determining how much of what he does offensively is the result of playing with SNash and the Suns OFF system. He could very easily end up becoming the near flop that SMarion became after being traded away from the Suns OFF system and what SNash does.
Mavs fan
June 29th, 2010
11:31 pm
I hate to break it to you Hawks fans, but you probably can touch anything the Mavs have besides RODDY BEAUBOIS and Dirk Nowitzki. Even if LeBron was to come to Dallas in a S&T, Cuban will try with ALL his might to convince the Cavs FO to not demand Roddy. (They think Roddy has the potential of top 10 in the NBA)
Point is, i think Dallas will be more than willing to trade for Joe Johnson and give up DAMP, BUTLER, Jason Terry, future seven first rounders, basically anything. But when it comes to those two pieces, don’t expect them to be in an ATL uniform next season.
Also i would like some insight on how you view Haywood and Jason Terry.
Would you consider Jason Terry(Has a Dampier-like contract in 2010-11) to be in a package and be a sixth man behind Crawford?
Also about Haywood, i can tell you that the Mavericks wouldn’t squint at the thought of giving him to you guys if it meant getting JJ. But why all this talk about him being a back up? I Think your team needs major help on Interior defense to guard the Howard’s/Bogut’s of the world. Why not start him at the Center and bump Horford to the Power Forward(Natural fit imho). I think if you guys get Haywood it will be a way better season next year, even if you lost JJ.
2 FOR JOHN DREW
June 30th, 2010
1:54 am
Good reading ! ….. Esp. DrMaryB and Grandad.
Streak
June 30th, 2010
4:00 am
You guys have no freaking idea what Dampier is worth.
1. Dampier is a sorefoot garbage man…..MISS. Teams want to trade for Dampier not because they’re in need of a center. Heck, they will trade for Dampier even if he’s got no feet to play with
2. Dampier’s contract is expiring…another MISS. You wouldn’t really want to pay him 10 to 16m just for backup minutes, wont you? Of course not, because…
3. Dampier’s contract “with 1 year left on it” is unguaranteed. It means that the second you sign and trade for him, you waive him. Isnt that nice? You lose JJ, but you get some draft picks, and perhaps Roddy. Makes your owner happier by getting assets and at the same time, some,(around 10 to 16m) spending relief.
But wait…there’s more…
You could actually bring in a team with a quality Free Agent (like Lebron?) and sign and trade for him using your newly acquired DAMPIER UNGUARANTEED CONTRACT (worth 16m?) and some FILLERS of your own(draft picks, rookies).Tadaaaaa!!
Dampier + Crawford = Lebron!!!!
.
nobody
June 30th, 2010
9:17 am
Streak. Who exactly is going to sign Lebron just to trade him?
Dallasmavsfan
June 30th, 2010
10:46 am
As a mavs fan, I can tell you this. If we do a S&T for JJ, WE will NOT be sending Roddy B, Butler & Damp’s contract back. Lets be honest from both sides. Roddy B is not being traded to ATL for JJ. Thats a fact. Id hope not to give up Butler as well, but that may not be an option. The most likely two situations are: 1) JJ for Butler & Haywood or 2) JJ for Damp’s contract and picks.
hmmmSund
June 30th, 2010
12:00 pm
GM Sund is known to let the big names and big salaries go… (See Ray Allen and Gary Payton)
Hawks fans: Are we looking in the wrong direction? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | DepositCasino.net
June 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
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Chief Long Rod
June 30th, 2010
10:18 pm
Go big hawks!!!
S and T JJ and chills for melo
trade smoove and zaza for al Jefferson
then you have more cap space and conince d Wade to come to atl
lineup:
pg: teague
sg: Wade
sf: melo
pf: horford
c: Jefferson
bench: Jamal crawford/Jordan crawford/mo evans/bibby/Joe smith?/Marvin Williams/pape sy?/other fa they sign?
Streak
June 30th, 2010
10:21 pm
@nobody
Why, the Cavs, of course. Look, if, Lebron leaves without getting at least something (like Roddy, or Butler, or Crawford), then who is going to earn money for the Cavs’ owner?
You really believe the Cavs management can tell Lebron “Go. Even without you, we can still sell tickets and earn money”
The Cavs will want a replacement for Lebron to at least provide a glimmer of hope for the Cavs management, and the Cavs fans.
Now, in a sign and trade, its the player that dictates where he goes. it goes likes this. Lebron says “Either trade me to Dallas (or Atlanta), or I walk to New York (or Chicago). And if you do trade me, make sure I get to play with Dirk and Kidd (or Horford and Bibby)”
If they answer ” go to New York/Chicago”, I already explained what happens. Zero tickets = Zero income.
If they answer “Fine. We’ll trade you to Dallas” Then they sign Lebron. But, he is signed for the purpose of trading him to Dallas. Otherwise, the Cavs management get sued. This is what a sign-and-trade is; otherwise, no one would have coined that term.
So, they trade him to Dallas for who? Now, the Cavs management realizes that although they’ll be getting replacements for Lebron, he won’t be selling as much to the fans. So, as much as possible, they get deals that lessens their spending.
This is where Dampier’s contract comes in (no, not Dampier. Dampier’s contract).
Cavs get Dampier’s contract and waives it instantly (that’s minus 16m in an instant), then they (may) get Roddy who is a promising star, and a few future picks for faster rebuilding.
The Cavs can’t get any other better deal than that.