Atlanta Hawks: J.J. squeezed out of the big summit?
Who's missing from this picture? (slamdunkcentral.com)
ESPN.com reported there was a free-agent summit in Miami over the weekend involving LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh.
Other reports say the meeting didn’t happen and others that say it couldn’t have happened because James was in New York and Wade was in Las Vegas and Chicago over the weekend.
Now I’m watching ESPN respond to those reports by saying that the three players did too meet in Miami!
All of this comes after Stephen A. Smith reported that James and Bosh would join Wade in Miami.
It’s all very confusing. But if there was a meeting in some city somewhere, and if James and Bosh really are considering headed to Miami to play with D-Wade (it seems to be a real possibility), the one thing missing from all of this is Joe Johnson.
Remember, Wade had said J.J. would be included in the summit and now it turns out he wasn’t invited (if in fact there was a meeting). What that would mean for J.J. is that he’s not included in this free agent master plan orchestrated by LeBron and Wade.
What it means for the Hawks is if those three guys really do end up on the same team, that would leave more teams with top-tier cap space than there are top-tier free agents. If the Hawks really are hoping to avoid offering J.J. the Bird max salary of about $119 million, and there has been some resistance to doing so, then this is not the scenario they’d want to see (and that’s not even considering what it would mean for the balance of power in the Eastern Conference).
Of course, all of this is assuming there really was a meeting, and the Big Three free agents really would play for the same team. It’s not even Thursday yet and it’s hard to know what’s true.
MC
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431 comments Add your comment
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
9:16 pm
Does Dallas really NEED Joe Johnson?
For what? The have the “Mos – Deff” scorers already. What do they want to do?
Move Dirk? It makes no sense. They didn’t get bounced because of a lack of scoring -
It was their Defense! Isn’t IT always their Defense?
Its ALWAYS – Defense!
SWAT Native
June 29th, 2010
9:16 pm
Maybe nobody cares but Blast and me, but the slept on Atlanta Dream just won a thriller over the defending WNBA champion Phoenix in Philips. Still plenty of room left on the bandwagon…
darrell starks
June 29th, 2010
9:19 pm
The could compete with anyone if they could get cp3 and bring joe and chill back.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
June 29th, 2010
9:23 pm
What player on the hawks team could be traded for cp3, horford and marvin or josh and teague or if hornets trying 2 fire sale jamal in the last year of his contract and teague.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
Kraig
June 29th, 2010
9:25 pm
Explain to me the concept behind obtaining expiring contracts. Also, @Najeh if we do obtain dampier and butler and 1st rounders for Joe, what would be the benefit of flipping those newly acquired assets?
Thanks.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 29th, 2010
9:26 pm
“Does Dallas really NEED Joe Johnson?”
They need him if they want to get the most out of Dirk’s last few years as an elite NBA player. Right now nobody on that team is good enough to be the #2 to Dirk’s #1. Joe is a better offensive player than Butler, Kidd, Marion, or anyone else they have on that team. Trading for Joe makes sense for them.
Of course, that’s all contingent on them re-signing Dirk in the first place…
darrell starks
June 29th, 2010
9:28 pm
LET SAY HORNET TRYING 2 FIRE SALE AND THEY WANT JAMAL AND TEAGUE.
STARTER CP3, JOE, CHILL, JOSH, HORFORD.
BENCH BIBBY, MOE, MARVIN, ZAZA, HAYWOOD.
RESERVE CRAWFORD, MORRIS
THIS TEAM CAN COMPETE WITH ANYONE
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Blast
June 29th, 2010
9:28 pm
The Atlanta Dream sure love to make ball games interesting, huh? Continually going down big in the half, then coming back strong to win in the 3rd and 4th. And it was the bench that got the win, two games in a row. They just swept the WNBA champions.
I bring this up to make a point. Y’all remember last season when Hawks bench will bring them back into the game just from pure hustle and energy? Effort? Then to start the 3rd and 4th, Woody will return to his starters, who would start playing selfish ball again and the lead will explode. Woody never adjusted to the fact that his main guys are not getting it done, sub out 3-4 starters that are stinking up the joint, leave in the bench guys that brought you back, and trust them.
Two games in a row, I’ve seen Dream coach bench almost all her starters for long minutes when they weren’t bringing it, even Angel, and Izzy, and her starting center and power forward, and ride the bench that was bringing it to victory.
Woody never had the balls to do that.
Then again to Woody’s credit, he never had a bench as good as the Atlanta Dream’s.
Go, Dream! Just cut down on the turnovers! And it is the starters that turn it over so much!
Author Blank
June 29th, 2010
9:29 pm
Why are you trying to get Vick in trouble. He wasnt at the party ( although it was his). He was actually at mattie Lice’s house trying to teach him how to throw deep.
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:30 pm
Come on Hawks don’t let the Mavs steal Joe away like they got JT Money aka Jason Terry.
Mike Woodson Part II ( the sequel)
June 29th, 2010
9:33 pm
darrell starks
June 29th, 2010
9:28 pm
Chris Paul has very bad knees in case you havent noticed and will never be the man he was prior to the injuries.
Other than an Injury reduced Paul your line up is about the same as it was the past two years. How do you expect to get different results?
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:34 pm
Bionic Knees Anyone?
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:36 pm
Danny Schayes anyone?
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:39 pm
Chris Childs anyone?
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
9:41 pm
Kraig,
Go to the last blog and read Ken Strickland’s Post from this morning! It pretty much
Tells you EVERYTHING you need to know!
That IS the POST of the Year!
Get Well Soon!
Ken S.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 29th, 2010
9:45 pm
“Explain to me the concept behind obtaining expiring contracts. Also, @Najeh if we do obtain dampier and butler and 1st rounders for Joe, what would be the benefit of flipping those newly acquired assets?”
Expiring contracts can be used in two ways. You can either do like the Bulls, Knicks, and Heat just did — allow them to expire and attempt to use the freed up cap space the following summer to lure free agents to sign with you at richer deals than they would get elsewhere. That’s one route the Hawks could pursue. The only problem is, there’s no guarantee that a free agent will take your money, and the 2011 free agent class is kinda weak — the best players available are Carmelo Anthony (who is already working on an extension with his current team) and Yao Ming (who despite his considerable talent is too injury prone to commit max or near-max money). If the Hawks lose out on both, they are left pursuing players like Michael Redd and Jason Richardson, who are downgrades from Joe.
The other thing you can do with expiring deals is trade them to teams over the cap for legitimate assets. As you may know, an over-the-cap team can only take back the same amount of salary they give up in a trade. If a mediocre team is tied down by many long-term contracts, they can kick-start a rebuilding process by trading some of those long-term deals for expiring deals to free up cap space. This is what the Hawks did when Billy Knight took over and traded every starter on the team.
The recent rumors that have floated around about the Hornets possibly being willing to trade Chris Paul generally focus around the idea that they would be willing to give up a superstar-caliber player like Paul if a team would take one of their less desirable contracts with it, like Emeka Okafor’s awful contract for example. Paul and Okafor together make $26 million a year, so any deal for the two of them together would have to send $26 million in annual salary the other way. If the Hawks were to acquire Butler and Dampier in a Joe sign-and-trade, they would theoretically be able to send their expiring contracts in such a deal, packaged with a draft pick or two.
Of course, until the recent rumors about the Hornets being willing to trade Paul started floating around, I never seriously thought Paul would be available in any type of trade. But if he is, he would be the caliber of player that would instantly lift the Hawks back to the level of a playoff contender. It is entirely possible that the Paul rumors are nothing more than just rumors and that he is not actually available, but that is just one example of the kind of trade that can be made using expiring contracts.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 29th, 2010
9:48 pm
One recent, prominent example of expiring contracts and draft picks being moved for a star is the Pau Gasol trade, when the expiring contracts of Kwame Brown and Aaron McKie were sent to the Grizzlies along with two future first-rounders, the rights to Marc Gasol (a second-rounder who hadn’t yet played in the NBA at the time), and Javaris Crittenton (who was getting paid a rookie-scale contract).
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
9:48 pm
Najeh
Oh! OK … Seems like they would better served with a solid #5 who can defend the rim and
block – alter shots! Jet Terry is a #2, but he comes off the bench! Seems like they need
a SF more.
But, hey with deep pockets? You Can Have Whatever You Want! (T. I.)
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:51 pm
Marc Gasol hmmm do anyone knows if he is a free agent Would be a good pick-up for the Hawks if he is.
Rondo
June 29th, 2010
9:56 pm
Good Doctor you have been quoting alot of rap songs lately, that BET awards show must be stuck in your head. Chris Brown as the new MJ anyone?
Najeh Davenpoop
June 29th, 2010
9:56 pm
““It seems the Magic have given up on getting Chris Paul from New Orleans because the Hornets’ front office is not responding to the trade proposal from the Magic.” – ClickOrlando.com”
The Hornets never took the Magic proposal seriously because the Magic were offering long-term deals (Jameer Nelson and Marcin Gortat have both been mentioned) in exchange for Paul, and to my knowledge they never offered to take Okafor back in a trade. The only logical motivation the Hornets would have to trade Paul is to get out from under Okafor’s deal and take back draft picks and expiring contracts.
I think it logically makes very little sense for the Hornets to trade Paul for any reason, but if Adrian Wojnarowski can write an entire column about Hornets owner George Shinn being open to it, I believe him. I think the right combination of picks and expiring deals can pry Paul away. But the Hawks don’t currently have those assets on the roster, and they won’t be in that position unless they get really creative.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 29th, 2010
9:57 pm
“Chris Brown as the new MJ anyone?”
No. Not even close.
O'Brien
June 29th, 2010
10:12 pm
Najeh,
As much as I love CP3’s game, I am really concerned about his future injuries, given his salary.
As for the JJ sign and trade, I think the ASG is secretly hoping JJ will not accept their offer, but will try and work a sign and trade. I think the ASG is offering JJ max money not because they want to, but because they feel obligated to.
Truth-Serum
June 29th, 2010
10:17 pm
I seem to remember when Scottie Pippen wanted a contract from the Bulls worth what he brought to the team but was shouted down for being selfish and told to wait his turn. ” Lets win a championship first” Although Pippen did win championships he never got that mega contract. Here a link of some good news for Scottie.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Scottie-Pippen-is-a-little-less-broke-these-days?urn=nba,252310
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
10:19 pm
Rondo
Marc Gasol -NOT- a FA.
Truth-Serum
June 29th, 2010
10:20 pm
Why do people plant wild rumors but never post the link to corroborate their story? When ever I see people making wild attention grabbing statements with out a legitimate link. i stop reading that person and recognize the lack of credibility.
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
10:22 pm
Rondo
First of all please accept my apologies for ruffing you up & being disrespectful to you today!
You must be psychic! I just watched and recorded the BET Awards tonight. The replay just ended at
10 PM. I missed it this past weekend, but saw the after party! It was awesome, I enjoyed the
MJ tribute and Prince’s as well! I never see Award Shows and am really NOT a music buff!
More of a sports chick entertainment wise! I can’t believe you said that!
Great Minds think Alike!
Again, I’m sorry. And, I got nothing but Mad-Love for you Rondo – my Brother!
Mmmmwah! (A big wet kiss!)
Truth-Serum
June 29th, 2010
10:26 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ApqG8lz5YHwF_zKZP0Di88g5nYcB?slug=ap-mavericks-nowitzki
So, Its official now! Dirks on the market…. looks like nobody wants to stay home.
Truth-Serum
June 29th, 2010
10:27 pm
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
10:22 pm
Rondo
Hey , can yo
Truth-Serum
June 29th, 2010
10:28 pm
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
10:22 pm
Rondo
Hey , can you 2 rent a room or something… this is a blog site you know….LOL
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
10:32 pm
Najeh
Ditto!
There is ONLY one MJ! C.Brown’s moves looked mechanical and orchestrated.
It was very selfish of him to cry instead of performing the Man in the Mirror!
He put way too much attention on himself there. He should have gave a shout-out
to Rhianna – when he got that little award for whatever – IDK what the award was for?
BTW: I dance just like MJ, for real Najeh! You should see my Thriller! ;0
O'Brien
June 29th, 2010
10:44 pm
Truth,
I think Dirk will remain with the Mavs. Opting out now allows him to get a no-trade clause in his contract (only Kobe has one), and it allows Dirk to get a new deal under the current CBA, which will be for more money, compared to him waiting until next year when there is a new CBA.
Its the same reason why I wont be surprised if Paul Pierce opts out. Get more money now.
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
11:04 pm
Truth-Serum
Haha! You wild man! I love you too! ROF. LOL.
I believe Rondo is married though! This is Blog-Thug Love … Tupac Style (RIP)
;0
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
11:09 pm
-Hatter-
Co-Sign your 10:20 & wlile I’m @ it:
concur.affirm.ratify.endorse.&.accede!
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
11:13 pm
*while*
northcyde
June 29th, 2010
11:16 pm
LOL . . this blog is funny. And drmaryb killed me with the “Kobe wouldn’t play with an Alpha, let alone a Q-Dog” line . . . hahahaha.
Having said all of this . . those of you who are willing to sign JJ, just to trade him to Dallas for 2 role players, are out of your minds.
I guess the goal isn’t to make the Eastern Conference Finals anymore I guess. People aren’t willing to pay ( or overpay ) the best player on the team, and possibly use other people as trade bait in order to make us better.
If you notice what Boston did 3 years ago, they traded everybody AROUND Paul Pierce, in order to upgrade the team . . not trade Paul Pierce to add with all of those young guys. But like I said, I guess the goal around here isn’t winning a title. Because to win a title, you need ALL-STAR TALENT . . legit All-Stars.
Bret at Hoopinion is against giving JJ a close to a max deal, but KNOWS what the problems of this team are . . . perimeter defense and defensive rebounding. You fix those problems either by guys stepping up and playing tougher defense, changing the scheme, bringing in top notch talent . . or doing all of the above.
We trade JJ away because we don’t think he’s worth “whatever”, and we may end up like these teams
- LA Clippers ( after they played around with Elton Brand )
- Golden St ( after they played around with both Jason Richardson and especially Baron Davis )
- Minnesota ( after they didn’t pay the right people ( Cassell and Spreewell ) . . but signed guys like Marco Jarik to long term deals . . which caused KG to want to get out of Minny )
Matter of fact . . someone name an instance in which a team traded away its best player ( and didn’t receive a star player in return ), and that team got a lot better. I’m sure there’s one out there, but I can’t think of one off the top of my head.
bigdave
June 29th, 2010
11:29 pm
O’brien..
i have a bad feeling that ASG will move slowly or not even offer Joe the max.. at least it wouldnt surprise me..
im interested in knowing how Sund.. ny.. and Cuban are going to all meet with Joe at 9 tomorrow.. has it been reported that Joe will meet with us? with all the speculation of him leaving and nobody considering him staying its hard to believe. however, with Joe being Joe they have the slightest clue as to his moves. this is the most many of them have ever featured him in commentary.
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
11:36 pm
nc
If Joe doesn’t want to be here,
-then-
what ??? give him away for nuthin’?
Plus a pkg of Beaubois & Haywood is not
and I repeat for emphasis not two role
players.
Either one, may or may not start…
-but-
each fill a need.
And don’t say we can’t get ‘em both
’cause that’s already been hashed out.
How many times must one say:
Joe calls the shots.
If he wants to stay he stays.
If not then salvage something.
-correct-
or not ???
drmaryb
June 29th, 2010
11:36 pm
Eddie Curry
Wow! He’s broke – or a dead beat?
How do you make 57 – 59 Million Dollars in 9 years and can’t pay for the house and cars?
Made a shade over 10 Million last year and has player option for 11.2 Million next season.
Played 3 games last year and 7 games this season – but hey, he’s moving in the right direction.
That’s 4 more games played this year.
Foreclosed Home in Chicago and has 12 cars unpaid for. Owes All-Star Capital Loans
For a drop -top Rolls Royce and 2 Range Rovers. Has what? 575K per month in garnishments
& his Baby Mama was murdered last year. Allegedly. (I may be off on some numbers but not far)
Dang! Oh yeah he owes 1k per month for satellite TV services and 17k per month payments
to his Family & Nem’ . Dang, tell them Cousins to get a Job! Better yet, he needs to take his azz to work and earn his Knicks pay-check!
Does JJ really want to be Eddie Curry’s team mate? I will call JJ’s bluff there. And we call
Sund an idiot? What about Donnie Walsh for signing this dead-beat with no money
management skills!
All his loans are defaulted, including the 575′ he owes Juan Howard! He says he needs
A loan now! He doesn’t need a loan, he needs a CPA and a Job and an education on
What to do with money!
Didn’t someone say we should trade for this idiot, because he’s tall & big?
And the JJ Hater’s think, he’s a bad person! Joe is a Saint compared to Eddie Curry!
He doesn’t even deserve to bear my Father’s Name! Eddie Burton (RIP) would roll over if he knew this dude was playing at MSG and in his home town!
So so saad! Character determines Destiny
O'Brien
June 29th, 2010
11:37 pm
northcyde,
The same fans who want JJ traded or run out of town are the same fans who will be complaining when the Hawks go 43-39, finish 7th, and lose in the first round.
bigdave,
JJ will get a lot of love from Knicks and Dallas (and whichever team misses out on LeBron). But I havent read anywhere where the Hawks and Rick Sund are showing JJ any love. So we will see how it works out.
Although JJ will probably wait on LeBron, RIck Sund and the ASG cannot wait on LeBron. If they want JJ back, offer him a deal during the first week of free agency. None of that slow deliberate Rick Sund style…
We need JJ back to be competitive for a top 4 seed. And with some tweaks to the roster, plus IF Teague steps up, we will have a chance to go to the ECF.
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
11:41 pm
bigdave
Dallas newspapers reporting:
Cuban already in LA.
Set to meet with Joe ASAP.
Amare as well.
Joe 1st priority.
source
Dallas Telegram or whatever the heck it’s called.
Do they have one paper or two?
Name?
Supposedly;
Cuban trying to put together his own “Big 3″.
bigdave
June 29th, 2010
11:42 pm
Peezy Paul just joined the party… and Ainge doesnt sound as if they will go out of their way to resign. another shooter out there for those who hopefully miss out on Joe or dont want to offer him Max..
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=5341636
bigdave
June 29th, 2010
11:44 pm
Grandad…
no way he can pay Murk, Joe, and Amare can he..
sheeeesh…
bigdave
June 29th, 2010
11:51 pm
O’brien..
@ this point.. id just be pleased with them showing love by offering Joe that check.. id be appreciative knowing they tried.. that would tell us all where Joe’s heart is.. given what we’ve heard from our insiders Sekou and MC..
and i believed DA reported that Joe will be back with us if mgt doesnt play around.. DA must have some invested interest in us.. i think DA jr was raised here..
Wabe
June 29th, 2010
11:59 pm
northcyde,
I know there are those out there that would just simply like to part ways with JJ because they don’t think “he’s worth the money”. We’ve heard it all to this point…
“Max contract players should put fans in the seats, should get everybody around them better, shouldn’t choke in the playoffs…”
And although I’m not big about throwing MAX money his way, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so if it meant we’d keep him, especially considering all of the other teams that’d be willing to throw him the big bucks to improve their rosters.
However, in this case, where it seems likely that JJ’s set on leaving ATL, I think it’d be wise to weigh our options and try to get some value in return for the guy. You see it all the time in baseball. Big-name players being traded for “farm system” players – or *prospects*.
I think in this case, more fans are starting to see how likely it is to see JJ-less Hawks team next season. The way we ended this past season, the frustrations he’s showed time and time again in the playoffs, and him being booed by fans at Phillips were just signs that paved the road for his departure. But, nobody knew if he was serious about taking that road, and nobody’s *certain* as of yet. But, as FA looms, JJ leaving is becoming a REAL possiblity. I know it was always possible, but now the rumors and his actions point to him wanting out of ATL and into another situation.
Before all the rumors began swirling, I just took most of this as posturing. Players just building up their credentials to get payed that MAX CONTRACT. And who knows, that could still be the case. But, I think at this point, JJ leaving is a much more real possiblity than JJ staying put.
So, with all that said, I ask, why not get something, ANYTHING, out of him if he’s to be gone anyways? Even if they are just prospects or role players…
Grandad
June 29th, 2010
11:59 pm
Don’t know?
He’s got the dough.
As far as the CBA – ???
He would somehow [Must] shed S.Marion’s contract.
Hawks taking back Haywood in a seperate S&T helps.
Dampier has a so-called “dust chip”. [contract]
I read where they are willing to let *Jet* leave.
*[trade/wherever]
So, I reckon he has a plan???
Truth-Serum
June 30th, 2010
12:00 am
Yeah Grandad, its amazing how the yarn gets spun…..
How about this for a tweet:
“A source close to the situation, told me an unnamed source with info on other sources, has sources with conflicting info”
Now aint that some sh!t
Grandad
June 30th, 2010
12:01 am
Oh yeah 11:59 @ bigdave !
Grandad
June 30th, 2010
12:05 am
“Dallas Star-Telegram” was one of my sources.
looked it up.
There were several, can’t remember ‘em all.
All Dallas media outlets.
One was a Mav/Fan based web-site.
I’ll find it eventually.
Truth-Serum
June 30th, 2010
12:09 am
O’Brien I think you are on point about the Dirk move but once you are in the stratosphere of free agency you never know what can happen.
I dont think JJ is coming back to atlanta unless it can prove its serious about defending the rack. JJ knows it. Al Horford said last week that Hed prefer to move to his natural position and allow the hawks a chance to get a real center. That is the only way they are going to go any hire is to shut down the expressway to the rack. Sund has screwed up the majority of the teams hes managed by trying to instill his philosophy. He prefers to use power forwards rather than centers and that is one thing JJ doesnt believe in. In fact most of the impact free agents dont have atlanta on their list and that is a major reason. NO CENTER.