Hawks re-sign Ivan Johnson
Vivlamore reporting.
The Hawks re-signed restricted free agent Ivan Johnson Tuesday.
The Hawks extended Johnson a qualifying offer this summer to retain salary-matching rights if he had signed an offer sheet with another team. Under NBA rules, Johnson’s offer was for one year and worth about $966,000 guaranteed. The offer, unless extended, would have expired on Oct. 1.
Last season, as a rookie, Johnson averaged 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 16.7 minutes in 56 games off the bench. The forward led the Hawks with a .513 field goal percentage.
The 28-year-old tied for sixth among NBA rookies with three double-doubles. He was third in field goal percentage, 14th in rebounds and 18th in points for first-year players. He was named the Rookie of the Month for April in the Eastern Conference.
Johnson was a surprise addition to Atlanta’s roster last season after a strong training camp.He had his career derailed by a wayward college career and anger-management issues, including a ban from the Korean Basketball League.Johnson quickly became a fan favorite because of his powerful build, menacing appearance and physical style.He became a productive rotation player for the Hawks after injuries to Al Horford and Jason Collins thinned the frontcourt.
Johnson’s temper did get him into trouble on a couple occasions. Coach Larry Drew sent Johnson home from a game in Orlando and fined him after Johnson argued with teammates on the bench. The NBA also fined Johnson $25,000 for giving fans the middle finger while leaving the court following Atlanta’s final playoff loss to Boston.
- Chris Vivlamore
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155 comments Add your comment
Balance Is Key
September 19th, 2012
9:04 pm
We finally have two lethal PG’s and PPL are trying to trade them off SMH!!!!!
Jimmy Crack
September 19th, 2012
9:07 pm
But we still need to trade Al and get a good center like Al Jefferson.
Sautee
September 19th, 2012
9:09 pm
“fined Johnson $25,000 for giving fans the middle finger while leaving the court following Atlanta’s final playoff loss to Boston.”
If only Al had given them the middle finger instead of 7 turnovers we may have advanced.
Sautee
September 19th, 2012
9:10 pm
*Gave the Celts that is
Balance Is Key
September 19th, 2012
9:17 pm
I guess some of you need more speedy claxton, mike bibby, and royal ivey SMH!!!
Balance Is Key
September 19th, 2012
9:19 pm
Leave the Big anchor at the bottom of Salt LAKE WHERE HE BELONGS!
j
September 19th, 2012
10:12 pm
alex, who said ivan was a game changer???? nobody, but he is a very solid addition to the bench and somebody that provides a ton of energy when he’s in. just trying to throw crap at the ASG, eh? you probably don’t even follow the Hawks.
soullrenaissance
September 19th, 2012
11:31 pm
Great news that Ivan is back – he should be strictly a backup pf – straight up enforcer in the paint. My projected starting lineup is:
1 – Teague
2 – Williams
3 – James
4 – Smith
5 – Horford
MannyT
September 19th, 2012
11:46 pm
@Charles Barkley
Josh is an unrestricted free agent. You can offer him more $$$ than anyone else. He can walk if he wants at the end of his contract. Sure the Hawks probably want him, but does he want the Hawks? The better he plays, the more likely other teams will try ways to get him.
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
12:03 am
MANNYT-I understand what you’re trying to say with your football analogy, but it fails to get your point across effectively. Whether I would want the slower, bigger, stronger player, or the lighter, faster, more mobile player would depend on the style and scheme I intended to employ.
A bigger, slower, stronger OLineman wouldn’t be much good to me if I intend to run a zone blocking scheme, or if I wanted a DLineman that can effectively generate a more effective pass rush. It might surprise you to know that one of the NBAs shortest and lightest teams won this yrs NBA title(Miami).
The Heat proved that talent, speed, quickness, athleticism, and running a system that takes advantage of those attributes, can trump height. MWilliams was among the NBAs tallest and biggest SFs. In fact, he was as tall and as big as our starting PF and OC, yet that height and size didn’t help him get the job done. Other than the Thunder’s JHardin, can you name another SG that came off the bench and outperformed 6′1″ SG LWilliams last yr?
In last yrs finals, the Thunder’s 6′10″ SF Durant was as tall or taller than the Heats top 10 players, yet they got solidly whipped by the much shorter Heat. Giving up JJs, Marvin’s and Hinrich’s height and size, along with their inability to effectively play in an uptempo style OFF, will give the rest of our Hawk players a chance to play the uptempo style of basketball they are best suited to play.
i_am_soulstar
September 20th, 2012
12:06 am
I spent a good part of my day yesterday checking Philadelphia 76ers blogs, and their fans were basically celebrating that Lou Will wasn’t returning. Common themes I saw among the comments were that Doug Collins pretty much let the guy jack up bad shots, because he was basically the only scorer on the team, and that Lou didn’t really play with the reckless abandon before Collins. They also said that his 20.2 PER from last season was misleading, although I’ll have to look more into that. I think he’s gonna be excellent to have off the bench, but I wonder if we should take heed from the complaints of Philly fans. Hopefully, LD has an answer for his supposedly mediocre shot selection. I haven’t watched the guy play enough outside of Atlanta summer league stuff to form my own opinion though.
Or hopefully being on a team where you’re constantly on the court with 2-3 other guys that can score the ball will change the way he plays.
I’m really interested to see about how Damion James does in camp. Dude was a rebounding machine in college.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 20th, 2012
12:12 am
Based on what I have seen on Eagles blogs the last couple of years, Philly fans are not the brightest bulbs in the box.
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
12:27 am
@Ray,
I never said that point guards are dominating the NBA; I said that they were currently in surplus so that statement infers that production will ultimately be the dividing line for a coach’s choice on who plays and who goes. Teague is not an outstanding passer despite what people on this board believes and Harris has proven he has the offensive game to put up big baskets (who believes Teague has a 40 point game in him? I do not). With the team doing some tweaking on offense, look to the guy who helps put the ball in the basket more frequently. That would be Harris. Not dissing Teague, but we have the veteran guard LD has always preferred.
We should be looking at what swingman would be good for the team’s offense (Rudy Gay, Harrison Barnes, etc.) once Teague’s name gets mentioned in trade rumors.
Rusty
September 20th, 2012
1:35 am
tjhook you have always hated JT. You are either LD or someone that is just as stupid as hom
MsDee
September 20th, 2012
3:57 am
brigadierjerry,
Its hard to tell where the Hawks will finish BUT I can tell u is I DONT see them finishing no where near 6-8
Just Joe
September 20th, 2012
5:58 am
Does Teague have a 40-pt game in him? Maybe. His best game last year was against New Orleans, where he scored 24 pts on just 11 shots in 29 minutes. Joe took 15 shots that game, and Willie Green also took 11.
Harris’s last 30-pt game came early in the 10/11 season, where he took 23 shots and played 43 minutes. 4 yrs ago (08/09), Harris had 3 40-pt games, and 9 30-pt games. In each of his 40-pt games, he attempted at least 23 shots and played at least 41 minutes.
Jeff Teague has never attempted 20 shots or more in any professional game. If Teague was in Charlotte or New Orleans or Houston this year, and was allowed to control the ball and take 20+ shots a night, I think he could easily rack up a few 30+ or 40+ games. He had 11 20+ games this past year.
Just Joe
September 20th, 2012
6:36 am
I will say this about Harris and his prior years’ stats. Those 4 years that he was with the Nets (includes partial yrs), they won a total of 104 games. Those were some bad teams.
In a year where his team has made the playoffs, he’s never averaged more than 11 pts per game (3 yrs in Dallas and last yr in Utah), while playing less than 30 minutes per game.
IMO, Harris is a quality backup, not a starter.
Buddy Grizzard
September 20th, 2012
8:21 am
Gary Washburn: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar @Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells Globe he worked with #bulls C Joakim Noah this summer & expects him to have expanded post game this season Twitter
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
8:53 am
I’M-A-SOUL-STAR-Suppose a Philly fan decided to checkout our blogs and read the IGNORANT BS our resident HORFORD HATING TROLLS routinely post about Horford. Do you really think they’d come away with an accurate opinion of his abilities and what he does for the team?
I’m certain every team has its share of ignorant, uninformed, and/or stupid fans who either develop feeling of hate, or develop MAN CRUSHES, on certain players. Unfortunately, it just seems that we have more than our share of those types of fans.
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
9:10 am
JUST JOE-Excellent observation, stats, and analysis. It’s like the David West fan that’s develop an attachment to Pacers PF, and claims his footwork and postup gm are simply outstanding. He also stated that PG CPaul had no impact on his All Star caliber gm whatsoever while they played together in New Orleans.
Yet, since being separated from CPaul after signing with the Pacers, he’s struggled to average double figure PPG. I’m certain they’re unhappy with his lack of production considering the money they’re paying him.
Buddy Grizzard
September 20th, 2012
9:45 am
“who said ivan was a game changer????”
I did. He impacts the game at both ends at three positions. There are few players in the world you can say that about.
“They also said that his 20.2 PER from last season was misleading…”
From what I’ve seen it disproportionately favors volume shooters, which is funny because it’s supposed to be about “efficiency.” I agree that Lou forced a lot of offense because that was what Philly specifically needed from him last year. I don’t think he’s an overly selfish player, but we will find out this year. As I said before, he’s never played with offensive players as talented as Al Horford and Josh Smith so the Hawks don’t need him to force offense like Philly did.
*disclaimer*
When I say *played with* that means, you know, actually PLAYED WITH, not been on the same roster with i.e. Allen Iverson whom he probably was on the court with less than 100 minutes of his career. Yes, Allen Iverson was a more talented offensive player than Josh or Al but that doesn’t mean Iverson and Williams played 20 mpg on the court at the same time.
Buddy Grizzard
September 20th, 2012
9:50 am
“Unfortunately, it just seems that we have more than our share of those types of fans.”
Case in point: KS man crush on Mike Scott
Buddy Grizzard
September 20th, 2012
9:52 am
“Then Id go after Al Jefferson or another impact player.”
People love Al Jefferson but that guy has never gone anywhere in the postseason in his career. If he’s so great, why haven’t his teams been great?
wordsmithtom
September 20th, 2012
10:45 am
Buddy,
Like KS, I saw those Las Vegas clips of Scott shooting 3’s from everywhere. I sense Scott is that stretch 4 we’ve been trying to sign forever. Not a banger, but a guy who can get hot and really open up the court for the second unit.
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
11:35 am
BUDDY GRIZZARD-If anyone has a MAN CRUSH on MScott, as BUDDY GRIZZARD claims about me, it’s Danny Ferry. After all, he drafted him and said he’ll be on our opening day roster. I haven’t said anything about him or his abilities. All I’ve done is list his name on a few of my roster predictions.
WORDSMITHTOM-These DELUSIONAL HORFORD HATERS are starting to get out of hand with their selfserving BS. They are so devoid of facts, or incapable of manifesting anything close to an informed opinion, that they continuously manufacture these straw arguments(ldistortions, misrepresentations, and outright lies) to further their delusional beliefs.
With Ferry’s committment to retaining and developing MScott at PF, who’s definitely a stretch 4 and strong rebounder, we could be seeing the end of JSmith’s tenure as an Atlanta Hawk if Ferry is successful in bringing in a DEF minded OC. Horford and Scott and would make for a very solid and complimentary PF tandum, and both would definitely be able to stretch the floor.
Ferry isn’t looking to take the Hawks team and franchise through a potentially long and sometimes painfull rebuilding process. He wants to make his transition as quick and painless as possible, which means he’s looking to remodel rather than rebuild.
I wonder how intrigued DHoward or ABynum have been so far by the Hawks’ abundance of high percentage 3pt shooters(Morrow, Jenkins, Morrow, Korver), stretch 4s(Horford, Scott), and quality PGs(Teague, Harris, Williams)? Keep in mind that this is all just speculation on my part, or food for thought.
Astro Joe
September 20th, 2012
11:52 am
Scott may very well start the year in the D League. Player development does NOT mean that he will get guaranteed playing time while guys like Josh, Al and Ivan are sitting on the bench.
Boy, talk about a stretch… from late second round pick to the player who makes Josh Smith expendable a year later. Whew.
KevinM
September 20th, 2012
12:00 pm
Buddy or anyone else, has Danny confirmed his camp invites publically?
Teague
Harris
Lou
Korver
Stevenson
Al
Josh
Zaza
Ivan
JJenk
MScott
Petro
Morrow
Anderson
James
That is all I’ve heard and potentially Benson is on the list. You would think there would be 2-3 others.
Astro Joe
September 20th, 2012
12:30 pm
Kevin, I have not seen anything else. I’m expecting at least 1 PG will be added to the list. But keep in mind, they have 14 guaranteed contracts, with James and Anderson battling for the last roster spot. So they may not invite more than a single player.
I wonder if Ferry has made a first-hand evaluation of Gladyr?
steven a smith
September 20th, 2012
12:50 pm
Trade Al Horford now Danny. If you wait any longer his value will decline. Make a move while his valus is still worth a late first round pick!!!
Buddy G
September 20th, 2012
1:19 pm
“If you wait any longer his value will decline.”
LOL his value is going to decline when he’s about to play for the first time without ISO? More shots to go around means he will put up career numbers and his value will increase. Keep trying though.
Buddy G
September 20th, 2012
1:31 pm
Look at how pathetic Nique’s defense is:
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2011/08/16/20110701_1988_atl_bos_GM7.nba/index.html
He was completely dominated by Bird any time he had to guard him. Check out the iso at 2:40. This is for you, Nique fans. The Hawks have never been to the ECF because Nique only played on the offensive end.
MannyT
September 20th, 2012
1:36 pm
@Ken
I think we all agree on would depend on the style and scheme I intended to employ. part of your statement. I previously mentioned that Joe was very good in an uptempo system before Woody got to him. I also believe Marvin would have been better in a faster tempo. But these are offensive perspectives. The new guys will be able to score in an uptempo offense (if Drew plays it that way.)
DEFENSIVELY-is where we will sacrifice. A small backcourt is easier to shoot over. With SF TBD, the hope is someone will step up tothe task so Josh doesn’t have to log lots of defensive minutes guarding a player at the 3 pt line instead of near the lane where he is more effective as a help defender. Big on the wings allowed us to cover for smaller frontcourt. This year, small on the wings means more outscoring instead of outdefending.
As for the how good was Lou last year. Offensively, he did well as a 6th man under Doug Collins. Doesn’t automatically translate to playing in the Hawks system. Hopefully there will be some tweaks to take advantage of his scoring, but defense is a concern.
glw
September 20th, 2012
1:51 pm
@ Astro Joe,
Yeah I agree with your assessment of Scott. He is a D Leaguer, thats it. Ferry saying he will be on the roster, just means he will most likely be 1 of 15. But with Al, Josh, and Ivan all capable of playing Pf’s, he wont see the floor at all.
KevinM
September 20th, 2012
2:35 pm
I see a 5 guard rotation of Korver, Teague, Harris, Lou, & Stevenson.
That means there won’t be any space for JJenk and Morrow is going to have to fight for 5-10 minutes.
Could Anderson or James get any serious consideration to start at the 3?
That could create a logjam at PF as I suspect Zaza is looking for 25-30mpg.
Josh or Al could be traded before this season ends.
And Jabbar has been working with Noah this summer……very interested to see if it shows.
I would have liked to have him work with our guys exclusively like that.
i_am_soulstar
September 20th, 2012
2:41 pm
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
8:53 am
I’M-A-SOUL-STAR-Suppose a Philly fan decided to checkout our blogs and read the IGNORANT BS our resident HORFORD HATING TROLLS routinely post about Horford. Do you really think they’d come away with an accurate opinion of his abilities and what he does for the team?
I’m certain every team has its share of ignorant, uninformed, and/or stupid fans who either develop feeling of hate, or develop MAN CRUSHES, on certain players. Unfortunately, it just seems that we have more than our share of those types of fans.
***************************************************************************************************
I never said anything about this being an accurate opinion. Just said that this was a common theme from the majority of fans on several Philly blogs. Even stated at the end that “I haven’t watched him play enough to form my own opinion outside of ATL summer league stuff.”
Just sharing pertinent information man,
i_am_soulstar
September 20th, 2012
2:48 pm
Although I definitely consider this a different situation for Lou since we will have several shooters/scorers on the floor at all times this season, I’m not such a homer that I would completely dismiss the majority opinion of the fan base of a player’s former team.
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
5:23 pm
@ Just Joe,
Appreciated your ability to bring up Harris’ stats from the Nets and Jazz. Remember with the Jazz, Harris was forced to run an inside-outside offense (to Jefferson/Millsap) which was a sharp contrast from the New Jersey offense. Also, who was Josh Smith’s equal in talent on the Nets? Someone comparable, even.
Harris has been on record speaking on how excited he is to join the Hawks because he will get opportunities to penetrate in the lane offensively; I think his ability to complement the big men’s game (specifically Smith, because Josh will have the option to finish, pass to the wing or go one-on-one) will be the key to the Hawks’ offense. I also think Harris can indirectly raise Teague’s basketball IQ, giving Ferry a chance to assess the two guards and their potential moving forward.
Josh is not trying to win a championship two years from now – he’s wanting to get there as soon as possible. The team acquired a veteran point guard and a bench player who can get his own shot (Lou Williams). Smith doesn’t forget any traditional role so we will keep him for his X-factor traits. Everybody else, including Zaza (continuity, nostalgia) is on the trade block. However, Horford and Zaza can make a bid for staying with the squad depending on how well they complement our new PG. I like Jeff Teague, but he came to us as a raw talent and because Woodson and Drew resisted using him, Teague will leave us as an unfinished product. Jeff Teague, say hello to Golden State- and that won’t be a bad thing since the coach is a former standout.
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
5:24 pm
* Smith doesn’t fit
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
5:34 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mu6EC1z0XU&feature=related
Oh, yeah! Devin’s the Dude!
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
5:37 pm
and he will not be too afraid to go straight up on the defending champions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vSUF4F2irk
tjhook
September 20th, 2012
5:44 pm
Had to post one more time (for Just Joe, who said that Devin is only a ‘good bench player’). That, sir, is an insult to Devin Harris and NBA basketball.
Check out the countdown highlights from #5 to #1. Devin is no Robert Pack!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFdSMJ1RPGg&feature=related
BC
September 20th, 2012
6:30 pm
qmlmm to the Boston Fans.
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
6:58 pm
ASTRO JOE-READING WITH COMPREHENSION IS FUNDAMENTAL. I know you like a good argument, but are you really that desperate? How in the devil did you manage to read the following, “WE COULD BE SEEING THE END OF JOSH SMITH’S TENURE AS AN ATLANTA HAWK, IF FERRY IS SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING IN A DEF MINDED OC”, and come up with this totally and completely off base comment, “BOY, TALK ABOUT A STRETCH…FROM LATE SECOND ROUND PICK TO PLAYER WHO MAKES JOSH SMITH EXPENDABLE A YR LATER. WHEW.
How did me sayng Ferry getting a DEF minded OC turn into MScott makng JSmith expendable?
Ken Strickland
September 20th, 2012
7:31 pm
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1336952-one-burning-question-facing-each-member-of-the-atlanta-hawks-in-2012-13
Here’s a very interesting and informative article about the current players we now have under contract.
Ken Strickland
September 21st, 2012
6:55 pm
First off Let me say that any body who is dissatisfied will Al Horford’s lack of performance, as many of you are, will be classified by me as either a hater or a troll, well in some cases both.
Why?
The logic escapes me now but, Go hawks.
Now back to you haters and trolls. I cant fully understand why you arent excited about a center who can play power forward having career numbers of 12 pt 9 rebounds. That excites the hell out of me.
You need to Join our cult and worship Al like Sautee, Ashole Joe.and myself. While its true we are a minority cult we will grow if you join us. All we ask is that you call all the bloggers on this site who are calling for Al to be traded, “haters” and anyone who is critical of Al’s weak game a “troll” then you can be one of us.
According to the GRAND POOTBUTT Sautee. Our continuing 2012 strategy of defending the many many criticisms of Al’s disgusting performances is to Attack Josh. And while its true that Josh had nothing to do with Al’s poor performance its important for us to attack Josh to help Al.
Why?
The logic escapes me now but lets move on.
Now, A lot of you have been comparing Jon Koncak with Al Horford. That may be a good comparison Although the defensive number favor Koncak and the offensive numbers Jon however they are both over paid.
Now, I know that the majority of the bloggers want to get Al traded. And that my happen, but in the mean while I need All of my cult brother to ATTACK JOSH!!!!! ATTACH FCKING JOSH, ATTACK ATTACK YOU MUTHER F CKERS ATTACK !!
YOU ANAL MINDED MORONS AS S HOLES … AND PLAY TEAGUE.
Ken Strickland
September 21st, 2012
7:08 pm
*lot of you have been comparing Jon Koncak with Al Horford. That may be a good comparison Although the defensive number favor Koncak and the offensive numbers Al however they are both over paid.
Ken Strickland
September 21st, 2012
7:16 pm
**Now, I know that the majority of the bloggers want to get Al traded. And that might happen, but in the mean while I need All of my cult brother to ATTACK JOSH!!!!!
I know what you are thinking. Zaza and Ivan make Al expendable. And thats true. I cant deny that, especially after last year., but until then.
FCK YOU.
Ken Strickland
September 21st, 2012
7:18 pm
And Fck Josh too. We are very very jealous of you Josh As hole. quit showing off and let Al do something.
Stupid sun of bettches.
Ken Strickland
September 21st, 2012
7:20 pm
Help me hate ashole Joe are you in this cult or not?
Astro Joe
September 21st, 2012
7:22 pm
Youre on your own this time Ken. How are you going to explain that 7 Turnover performance form Al that cost us the game…?