Atlanta Hawks: Joe Johnson is back
Joe Johnson’s agent, Arn Tellem, confirmed in a blog post at Huffington Post that Johnson accepted the terms of a six-year contract offer from the Hawks. Johnson and the Hawks finalized the details of the deal on Sunday but a contract can’t be signed until July 8 under free-agent rules.
In the blog post, Tellem offered some insight into J.J.’s decision:
When the free-agency period kicked in, Joe made a point of talking to the Hawks first. Their owners and new coach, Larry Drew, impressed Joe with their commitment to making the team championship-caliber. In turn, Joe felt equally committed to the Hawks, his teammates and the city of Atlanta.
With all his success, Joe remains as grounded as he was a decade ago at our first meeting in Little Rock. His priorities are his family, his friends and his game. Joe could have forced a sign-and-trade deal for five years with another team, but he decided that winning in Atlanta would be more meaningful. When the Hawks offered the maximum — six years — he happily reciprocated.
For his next act, Joe plans to actively recruit other top free agents to Atlanta, a place not unlike his hometown, where he feels comfortable and appreciated.
J.J.’s contract is expected to be worth roughly $120 million, with the exact value to be determined after the league completes its audit later this week. Once the contract is signed, the Hawks will have about $63 million in salaries committed to 10 players for 2010-11. That includes J.J.’s projected salary of about $15.8 million and Jordan Crawford’s rookie-scale salary of about $1 million.
The total doesn’t include the $4.8 million qualifying offer for restricted free agent Josh Childress, who has drawn interest from Washington. The Hawks would have the right to match an offer sheet Childress signs with another team. Childress has until July 15 to notify Greek team Olypiakos if he plans to opt-in for the final year of his contract.
MC
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298 comments Add your comment
JeJe
July 4th, 2010
10:28 pm
I’d like a clear explanation from the typical Hawks fan on how Josh Smith is gonna magically play the 3 in these scenarios people keep spewing out about getting a Center.
HawkKingBibby
July 4th, 2010
10:36 pm
GET SHAQ IN THE ATL NOW………… Hey MC do you think Joe is really going to try and recruit other players here? I suspect he will cah his check and we wont see him till camp in October. Im happy he is back and the Hawks sure need him but he seems like Basketball is the last thing he thinks about in the offseason.
The Shooter
July 4th, 2010
10:38 pm
Did the Hawks play tonight? You mean the season is over. Dang they don’t play all 12 months. It seems like it.
i_am_soulstar
July 4th, 2010
10:41 pm
I agree Wabe
Chris Bosh is good, but he’s Pau Gasol good (which is still pretty damned good), not Dwayne Wade, Lebron good
i_am_soulstar
July 4th, 2010
10:45 pm
Besides Lebron James, Josh Childress is the best free agent small forward left (unless you’d take Matt Barnes over Chills, but I think that’s fools gold). I hope he’s on Joe’s recruitment list.
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
10:45 pm
@JeJe….He can’t play the 5…lol nor the 1 or 2. he’s a good defender (runner up to defensive player of the year). I really don’t think he would be bad against playing the leagues best 3’s (james/anthony). Nor is he slow. He would only play the 3 in certain situations, for instance, on defense. I wouldn’t make him a 3 on offense. Even with that said, i think they should bring in a good center (haywood) and take it from there. He’s too good of a talent to just sit on the bench. If i’m not mistaken, Josh and Marvin are like the same size.
JeJe
July 4th, 2010
10:51 pm
Raybud,
Good points —
Marvin sucks, but he has a true 3 and sometimes actually plays like one. Smoove on the other hand is impossible to gauge
tj
July 4th, 2010
10:54 pm
Well Fellas personally I don’t think the Hawks should have given Joe all of that money. They need to move most of the players on their roster. Besides Crawford and Smith, everybody could go. Joe is very much overpaid. However, it’s not what you’re worth but what you negotiate. And the Hawks bit the bait:(
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
10:58 pm
JeJe – I kinda don’t wanna give up on Marvin, but when he plays, he never shoots. I think he could be a good legitimate 3, u know, 15pts 7rb, type player. It’s like he only take a lot of shots when he makes his first 2 or 3 consecutively…other than that, he probably don’t take more than 8-10 shots a game. The thing that i like about Smoove this year is that he got his happy @zz from behind the 3 pt line and started to really drive….his game is in the paint….i’d like to see him improve on his free throws though. In a couple of blogs, i’d mention us trying to acquire someone like tmac for the mid level exception. Do you think he would do it? This question is for all that would answer. I’d love to have a center come in first, but we must improve our bench.
summerhill ga
July 4th, 2010
11:00 pm
do the fans have to stay home until his contract ends?…are we allowed to attend the games?…he did say “he didn’t care if we come or not”..i could use the refund on my season ticket…
Clyde
July 4th, 2010
11:02 pm
Another player rapes the Atlanta Hawks.
Jon Koncak, Chris Crawford, Speedy Claxton, Mike Bibby, Ken “the snake” Norman, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson.
JeJe
July 4th, 2010
11:05 pm
We don’t need any more guards or wings. We have 2369 guards right now — Where does T-Mac fit in? We need bench bigs and I think RandMo and Collins and Joe Smith would be good additions and would cost nothing.
Also, I heard through a friend that Smoove does not like driving to Suwanee to practice free throws with Mark Price because he thinks it’s too far. This is definitely true and I heard it directly. Apparently, Rondo works out with Price during the summer.
FIRE SUND
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
11:07 pm
@Clyde, you sure Joe “raped” the hawks? My mom use to tell me, “you can’t rape the willing”…lol If the franchise is willing to pay him the money, how did he rape them?
KB24
July 4th, 2010
11:13 pm
I mean all these clowns can sign wherever they like, it does not matter. I own this league and will 3-peat for the second time. And the only player we will add is a waterboy and will still win it all.
Dashizz357
July 4th, 2010
11:14 pm
Wow….Joe Johnson $120mil……..more…dribble, dribble, dribble……
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
11:23 pm
@ Truth Serum – you are a trip…lol…i’ll admit that i am a fan of the Hawks. It was like a bitter sweet moment for me when he signed….he’s the best fit for the A, but i didn’t think he should have gotten max money. Then again, that would have been the only way we would have keep him. I’m honestly going through FA lists and i’m looking at howard from the mavericks/wiz. Would he be an excellent pickup? And do we have the money? I’m trying to see what we have left after JJ signs the contract. Also, if J-Chills doesn’t want to come back to Atl, we should do a sign and trade for him. I think the guy can ball his butt off.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 4th, 2010
11:28 pm
Josh doesn’t have the lateral quickness to guard opposing 3’s or the shooting range to play small forward on the offensive end. He is a natural 4, and more importantly, Horford plays center better than he plays small forward. I’d rather see Horford continue to play out of position than see Josh at the 3.
Truth-Serum
July 4th, 2010
11:33 pm
Truth-Serum
July 4th, 2010
11:28 pm
di
Truth-Serum
July 4th, 2010
11:34 pm
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
11:23 pm
Imposter posting as truth-serum
July 4th, 2010
11:41 pm
You are right, I dont have a life, youve won every argument with me and this is all I have left to do. I hate you truth-serum
Raybud
July 4th, 2010
11:50 pm
@Truth Serum….it’s all good….i’m 30, but i got my own place….i’ll be on tomorrow and we can double team on these haters!!!
Navigator
July 5th, 2010
12:11 am
You dumb butts keep saying it’s about Joe Johnson making too much money, who cares how much he makes. So many are mad for the Hawks acting like children offering the contract that no other team seem to be interested in giving. Why didn’t the Hawks offer him what his true value was, and bargain off that, I mean jumping out with a max offer is ludicrous. I would much rather the Hawks offering LeBron $250M, now that makes sense, the value back in local interest and ticket sales would make that kind of offer fantastic.
truhawkfan
July 5th, 2010
2:17 am
Personally I am glad to see that JJ is coming back and to see him say it would mean alot to him to win a championship here. I hope that they do great in 2010-2011 and years to come so they could shut up all the spectators and commentators. GO HAWKS !!!!! So JJ do not let the negative energy
define your game good luck next season.
JSS
July 5th, 2010
4:01 am
Wow, I see that Golden Grain sells were off the chain over the last holiday weekend! By the way, go check out who the New Jersey Nets bought in to try compete for a spot on their roster…
http://www.nba.com/nets/news/Summer_League_Roster_Release_100628.html
JSS
July 5th, 2010
6:05 am
“sales”
Chris D'
July 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Joe welcome to the overpaid, cap eating and aging fast NBA guard club that will screw up our NBA franchises for years. My agent said the same crap when the idiot GM of my team signed me too, to this crazy long term deal. Maybe one of us can get traded for you one day.
Signed: Baron Davis, Michael Redd, Gilbert Arenas
Sigh
July 5th, 2010
7:53 am
We are screwed thanks to this fragmented ownership with no vision. Joe showed what he really is during the playoffs and we reward that crappy leadership with a max contract? Stupid!
Their vision was to sell tickets and make money not win playoff games—-DArss
Good luck trying to resign Horford or any other talent—this smells or John Koncak
ClassicHawks
July 5th, 2010
8:05 am
CONGRATS JJ, ASG, & RICK SUND. THIS WAS THE RIGHT MOVE. NEGATIVE ATLANTA FANS ARE NOT THAT INTELLIGENT & CLEARLY NOT THAT WORRIED ABOUT WINNING. FOR A CITY WHO SITS ON THEIR HANDS AND WHINES AND COMPLAINS ABOUT EVERY MOVE, IF DONE RIGHT OR WRONG, SHOWS THE UTTER STUPIDITY OF THE SPORTS FANS IN THIS CITY! YOU DO NOT BUILD A TEAM AND THEN BLOW IT UP. YOU REMAIN A WINNER WITH JOE, AND A COUPLE OF TWEEKS HERE AND THERE, AND YOU ARE A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. YOU ALREADY HAVE 3 ALL STARS AND EVERYONE IS TRADEABLE, BESIDES JOE AND AL. THIS WAS THE RIGHT MOVE AND I THANK JOE FOR COMING BACK TO A CITY WHO FANS ARE CLUELESS, BANDWAGONERS, AND ARE THE SUCKIEST FANS IN THE WORLD. YOU GUYS KEEP COMPLAINING ABOUT MONEY THAT IS NOT YOURS!!!
HOW DO YOU CRIPPLE YOUR FRANCHISE IF YOUR WINNING 50 GAMES EVERY SEASON!! UGH? AM I MISSING SOMETHING? ATLANTA FANS SUCK AND WISH ANYONE WHO HAS SAID THIS IS A BAD MOVE AND NOT GIVE ASG OR RICK SUND CREDIT FOR THIS MOVE….PLEASE…..PLEASE…..KILL YO SELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. S
July 5th, 2010
8:28 am
Good job for the Atlanta Hawks. You are keeping a good team in play. You’re keeping the players happy by giving them the assistant coach to lead them so they don’t have to change much and you’re bring in Joe Johnson at 19.5 million a year. Joe should be happy, he is getting good money and he can keeping on doing what he does. The Hawks should be four or fifth seat in the conference next season.
But what about the FANS? To have a championship team you need champion players and coaching staff and maybe even the cheerleaders. What kind of team is the hawks? Big and defensive or small and quick? How can you attract good players when the ESPN or TNT commentator don’t spend ten second on the identity or the leadership of the Hawks? In history we know who is the leader of the Bulls or the Knicks and the Lakers. Who is going to lead the Hawks? Joe Johnson blamed the FANS for there lost in the playoffs. Why should the FANS support a starting line who sits down the last three minutes of a playoff game? Did Dwayne of the Miami Heat? No, he gave it all to the last second.
Atlanta Hawks, what are you willing to do to win championship and not games?
We Need Tree
July 5th, 2010
8:32 am
Still no one has ventured a guess about what Larry Drew’s scheme/system will be? How can anyone just assume that the team will put forth more effort for him?
Don't Think So
July 5th, 2010
9:01 am
ClassicHawks – Was with you right up until u said that Josh was tradable and Al was not. Reverse that. Go Hawks!….(Is there no such word as “tradable”?)
U GO GIRL
July 5th, 2010
9:05 am
Dammmmmmm Dr Mary….tell us how u really feel.
wordsmithtom
July 5th, 2010
10:24 am
Dr.Mary, there are jerks visiting this blog, but that image of yours of “fondling each other” was off the chain. Have thought about putting my hands around a couple necks, I have to admit.
I see Siler’s headed to New Jersey’s camp. Dang, I wanted big guy back with us.
…..not for “fondling”….let’s keep this real.
107glenwood
July 5th, 2010
11:13 am
I was 50/50 on the J.J situation,but now since back, ASG-please bring in a true center. Im not a big Shaq fan,but he didn’t have a bad season last year. Plus at 7′1 & 350 who else is like that? I read something someone post about Allen Iverson. The Hawks also said they need more veterans on the team, why not? He stays in the ‘A” full time, he will put more fans in the stand, and he way better than Bibby still plus cheaper..
Hoops
July 5th, 2010
11:23 am
Just a thought-
JJ said in his release that he would start recruiting his friends to come and play with the Hawks. I wonder if he has started recruiting LaBron yet. Why not? LaBron could not go to another team that, with his addition, would be closer to winning a Championship.
Just entertain this thought for a minute. If LaBron would consider coming to the Hawks, this is probably the S & T that the Cavs would consider:
Trade Crawford($10.8M expiring contract) and Marvin($6.7M) for LaBron. The salaries would work to balance a Max contract for LaBron. That would give the Cavs a replacement @ SF and a SG(starter or off the bench) that has an expiring contract and can really play! I would hate loosing Crawford, but I guess I could get used to it if we got LaBron! This trade would leave the Hawks with this line up and their MLE or Bi-Annual to get two bigs:
PG-Teague/Bibby
SG-JJ/Crawford2/Evans
SF-LaBron/Childress
PF-Josh/?
C-Horford/Zaza
The Hawks could use some combination of Childress/Evans/Bibby to trade for another big.
Alright JJ, do your part!!!
Don't Drink the Coolaid
July 5th, 2010
11:32 am
ClassicHawks:
You are dead wrong on your assessment of being a championship team with a couple of tweeks. U must remember the Hawks are behind at least 3 to 4 teams in the East who are more competitive now and will only get better – so Championship? What Championship? What free agent is sitting out there right now saying – I could join the Hawks and be in championship contention – I’ll answer that for ya – “O”! How about being bounced in the playoffs in round two each year that’s the long and short of it – expectations are limited!
TERRIBLE MOVE!!!!
July 5th, 2010
11:46 am
Joe Johnson’s a second tier player that will do nothing without a center and a guard that you no longer have money for. Small forwards are a dime a dozen.
With the exception of Horford this team should be completely scrapped. Welcome to 4 more years of 1st/2nd round basketball.
KD
July 5th, 2010
11:48 am
Unbelievable!
Jack P
July 5th, 2010
11:55 am
JJ is going to have to improve his game to earn that $120 million and maintain a clear conscience. He folded in this year’s playoffs and stunk up the arenas he played in. C’mon Joe you can do better.
MJM
July 5th, 2010
4:58 pm
To all the people who are calling us bad fans for criticizing: Eff you! Excuse us for caring about our teams decision. I am a loyal fan of every atlanta team and I cant believe we just spent so much money to bring Joe back. Do you remember the last atlanta franchise that overpaid someone. If you dont let me remind you…Vick. Im not saying Joe is like him but the situation was the same. The organisation was weak and turned into cowards once Joe wanted to leave. We didnt even bother talking to other agents…
jojo sunshine
July 5th, 2010
7:01 pm
now is the time to make a big move. here it is…trade Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby to Memphis for Rudy Gay and Hasheem Thabeet or OJ Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet. Now we continue to stay young with great young talent and we can build this team around Al Horford, OJ Mayo, and Josh Smith with Teague @ the point and Thabeet @ the center position. That along with signing Childress back would give us a strong, young, exciting team. Memphis would get two proven winners and veteran presence in the locker room. I am a genius.
jojo sunshine
July 5th, 2010
7:39 pm
We could also try to pry away Marc Gasol if Memphis would let him go. That would be a total plus for the Hawks. We would get rid of two veteran players (JJ-a proven scorer and Bibby-a great veteran floor general). I do not think Memphis would part with all these pieces but who knows. I did not think Minnesota would ever let Garnett go but they did and for far less than what I am proposing.
lets go!!
July 6th, 2010
1:05 am
F*CK ALL U HATING A** HAWKS FANS, AND YOUR MOTHERS TOO, HE DONT HAVE TO SAY IM SORRY TO U HALF A** FANS, I REALLY THINK YALL DESERVED THAT, HE TOOK YALL FROM 13 TO 53 WINS, AND NOW YALL IN THIS GAY A** SPORTS WRITER WANNA HATE, I BET HE’S NOT EVEN FROM THIS CITY, THE BOY IS PAID NOW, SO WHAT YALL TALKING IS JUST WASTED BREATH, YALL NEED TO KEEP EVERY AIR IN UR BODY, CAUSE U MIGHT NOT LAST LONG LOL!!! GO KILL YOURSELF IF U DONT LIKE IT, GO HEAD U MIGHT AAS WELL, AND HE STILL DONT GIVE A RATS A** ABOUT YALL AND UR FEELING, ON THIS BLOG CRYING LIKE A BUNCH OF B*$CHES, AND ALSO GONE HEAD AND REPORT THIS COMMENT ROTFLMAO!!!!
Sly Stone
July 6th, 2010
9:31 pm
That is the all time dumbest mover ever. Way to go Hawks. You over paid a guy who during the playoffs berated the fanbase in ATL.
REAL HAWKS FAN SUPPORTER
July 7th, 2010
12:17 pm
I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID ” REAL HAWKS FAN” JOE HELPED THE HAWKS TO BECOME WHAT THEY ARE. YES I HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH SOME OF HIS PLAYS AS WELL, BUT I AM STILL A TRUE HOMETOWN HAWKS FAN AND I LOVE JOE. EVERYONE CAN’T BE PERFECT EVERY GAME. THANKS FOR COMING HOME JOE- I LOVE YOU- MAYBE THE NEW COACHING SYSTEM WILL ACTUALLY IMPROVE JOE AND THE OTHERS AROUND HIM. NEVER STOP BELIEVING IN THE TEAM
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
REAL HAWKS FAN SUPPORTER
July 7th, 2010
12:19 pm
I LOVE IT ” LET’S GO” I LOVE THE HAWKS- THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY- THEY HATE TO SEE SOMEONE COME UP
Hawk Fan 4 Life 21
July 9th, 2010
7:21 pm
Are you serious? $120 million for J J ? How come they coudn’t let him go,maybe not make the playoffs this year,and go after Carmelo next year who’s younger and a better all around player?
atlien85
July 13th, 2010
9:06 am
Let me start by saying that regardless of the fact that we TOTALLY overpaid for Joe Johnson, I am still a huge Hawk supporter. That being said, it makes absolutely no sense to me that we would commit that much money to someone who is not even willing to publicly announce that he is the bonified leader of the team. Joe Johnson is a great player, but as far as his leadership skills go, I’m not convinced. If you are making the kind of money Joe will be making in the years to come I expect a few things: 1) YOU SHOULD BE THE VOCAL LEADER. PERIOD! All this silent leader stuff is total BS. Nearly every other team in playoff history had a vocal leader, especially championship contenders (which is what he claims he wants to be). The vocal leader holds his teammates AND himself accountable for lackluster performance. In my estimation, Joe did neither, which tells me he is not an effective leader. 2) TAKE COMMAND OF THE GAME! When things aren’t going well for a team, great players take it upon themselves to take over the game. Does this mean shoot everytime you touch the ball? No. It means taking an active role on both sides of the ball to make sure a great play is made. I’ve seen Joe fold too many times and defer to other players when the pressure is on. Excuse me Joe, but that is not what we’re overpaying you to do. In other words, we need him to be a superstar when the pressure is on too. I’ve only seen him do it once, and that was two years ago in the Boston series. 3)Lastly, I’m not confident in the Atlanta Hawk’s front office. Obviously they are privy to information I am not and have inside knowledge regarding players and coaches. However, it amazes me how we had such a poor performance in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year and we essentially commit to bring back the SAME team we had last year. FAIL! How the hell are we supposed to compete in the east when we have done nothing to improve our team? We weren’t able to compete last year so why would the same team with the same coach (Larry Drew was sitting right next to Woody last year cosigning that bland offense) be able to compete now. Our division just became considerably more competitive boys and girls. Miami and Orlando are better than us right now. Charlotte is making noise as well and won’t make the same mistakes we’re making. I’m not a gloom and doom type of person, but I am a realist. Being a realist means stating the obvious. Obviously, our best shot at going deep in the playoffs is when we have one of the top four spots. Miami, Boston, and Orlando have the top three on lock. Chicago and Charlotte are up and coming teams and we need to make sure that we don’t allow them to gain any ground on us. I’m confident that we will make the playoffs, BUT if we have to see any of those top teams in the first round, it’s pretty much a wrap. First order of business should have been securing a legitimate center, but that’s a rant for another day.
RANT OFFICIALLY OVER… for now anyway.