Does anybody in Atlanta actually want Joe Johnson to stay?
And this gentleman, oddly enough, is a Hawks' fan. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
The city of Cleveland, such as it is, is pleading with LeBron James to stay. My question today: Is anybody in Atlanta doing the same with Joe Johnson?
It’s a strange dynamic, J-J-J-Joe and the A-T-L. Fans have ripped him for shooting too much and for not being LeBron or Kobe. He ripped Hawks fans after Game 3 of the Orlando series. And now, with free agency set to commence, I ask: Do you folks really want Johnson to re-up?
I’ve made the argument before, but here it is again: If Johnson leaves, the Hawks will get a lot worse in a hurry. He might not be LeBron or Kobe, but he’s one of the NBA’s 15 best players. Unless you believe the Hawks will then land one of the 14 or so greater talents — and Jordan Crawford, the 27th selection in the 2010 draft, isn’t such a talent — the team can say goodbye to winning 50 games and probably to reaching Round 2 of the playoffs.
The Hawks surely realize as much. I’m not sure their constituency shares that belief. My reading of Hawks fans is that they — meaning the majority, perhaps the vast majority — don’t think Johnson is worth max money and should therefore hit the road. The trouble with this scenario is that I’m not certain the Atlanta Spirit would spend much money or effort to replace him. (Yes, I’m still stuck on the Larry Drew hire.)
But I’m occasionally wrong when it comes to reading the electorate, and that’s why I’m asking: You out there — do you want Joe Johnson to stay? If not, why not? And if not, what’s Plan B?
(Speaking of which: Yahoo! Sports reports that the Dallas Mavericks would like to work a sign-and-trade for Joe Johnson. Would that work? I say … )
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
303 comments Add your comment
Dino
June 28th, 2010
12:18 pm
Get rid of johnson–he’s dead weight, over paid and doesn’t show up in big games.
Timmy
June 28th, 2010
12:20 pm
Something to chew on: In recent years, the Hawks have taken Josh Childress (6th pick), Marvin Williams (2nd pick), and Shelden Williams (5th pick). Even if we still had all three of these guys, we couldn’t package them all for a lottery pick. Probably the highest draft pick we could get would be somewhere in the low-mid 20s. 3 high lottery picks…now not even worth one lottery pick.
tremaine
June 28th, 2010
12:23 pm
If i felt like Joe Johnson could bring a title or had a chance to bring a title to Atlanta I would say sign him. But he is not worth max money plus he don’t want to be the man here as he proved in that game 3. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STEP BACK IN ORDER TO GO FORWARD! So I hope he do us a favor and sign somewhere els so we can boo him in someone else jersey next year rather than the hawks.
D.W.
June 28th, 2010
12:25 pm
Sign Joe and send Josh Smith packing with the quickness.
Chip Shot
June 28th, 2010
12:26 pm
i would take caron butler in a heartbeat from the mavs.
bruck
June 28th, 2010
12:28 pm
how about we s&t jj and marvin 4 rudy gay and hasheem thabeet
bruck
June 28th, 2010
12:28 pm
Enter your comments here
tremaine
June 28th, 2010
12:29 pm
Do it really matter if you get to the second round when you struggle against a team that you should have swept then catch a beat down and get swept in the second round? The ulitimate goal for the hawks should be trying to win a championship. The team from last year was not even close.
James
June 28th, 2010
12:30 pm
If he’s going to New York the Hawks should work out a sign and trade with them and get back David Lee and Toney Douglas.
Timmy
June 28th, 2010
12:30 pm
Why I don’t think re-signing Joe is a good idea:
There are two ways in which franchises get to and sustain an elite or championship level – great ownership/management (Lakers, Spurs, Pistons)or being the beneficiary of one or more years of sucktitude (Magic, Cavs, Bulls, Spurs again). A little luck helps too…the Celtics and Spurs have all three (Celtics are lucky to have had McHale gift-wrap KG for them and the Spurs were lucky David Robinson got hurt).
The best thing that could happen for the Hawks if they were to re-sign JJ would be for him to get hurt before the first game of the year and miss the entire season. The team tanks and gets a top 5 pick, picking up a future all-star player in the draft or trading the pick for a proven veteran star like Boston did to get Ray Allen.
welikebaseball2
June 28th, 2010
12:32 pm
I don’t disagree that we’re a weaker team by letting Joe go AND not replacing him with a max contract player. I just don’t agree that we’ll be a better team in seasons to come by committing max money to a guy that’s just good enough to get us to the playoffs, but not good enough to carry us deep into the playoffs. It’s a tough scenario. I don’t think Joe has proven himself to be worthy of a max contract (again, see playoff performances). Yet, if we don’t give it to him, he’ll get it somewhere. Therein lies the rub. With our inept ownership, chances are slim that they would pay for (or that they could even convince) one of the premier agents to come to ATL. Tough, tough predicament.
Ted M
June 28th, 2010
12:32 pm
Is it a for gone conclusion that JJ is getting a max contract?
O'Brien
June 28th, 2010
12:34 pm
I think the only chance the Hawks have of convincing JJ to stay, is if they offer him the max 6 years, $119 mil during the first week of free agency.
Will the ASG really pony up that kind of money? Taking on an increase in payroll without the guarantee of an increase in attendance? Plus some fans dont want Joe back (I would like to see JJ back).
Decisions decisions.
Veteran Fan
June 28th, 2010
12:37 pm
Trade Josh and Marvin for Chris Paul, resign Childress, and do a sign and trade for David Lee with the Knicks for JJ and Bibby. Then use every dime you’ve got to get Chris Bosh! Line up pg Paul, sg Jamal Crawford, small forward Bosh, strong forward Horford, and c Lee. Subs, Childress, Crawford, Teague, Zaza, and Evans. Very young, very fast, a ton of scoring and with the exception of Jamal all great defenders! Childress wins sixth man award and Hawks contend very well for 3-5 years!!!! Every starter can put in 20 a game or more and every player is mobile, no more half court debacles!!
ryan
June 28th, 2010
12:49 pm
All we can do wait for July 1st all this talk means nothing till midnight
ryan
June 28th, 2010
12:52 pm
All we can wait till July 1st this there is nothing we about Joe Johnson untill he signs.
UGA Fan
June 28th, 2010
12:56 pm
Sorry to say this team will be worse w/o Joe.
Daniel
June 28th, 2010
12:56 pm
Well let’s first look at what Joe gives the Hawks. Some perimeter defense, but that has been slipping a bit in recent years; a good shooter that defenses have to respect; and someone who can create and make tough shots when the game is on the line.
The last can be replaced by Jamal Crawford. The first two can actually be found relatively easily and relatively cheaply. Look at players like Dahntay Jones, Arron Afflalo, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, etc. Any loss will be felt on the offensive end and, ideally, that can be made up by a greater reliance on our frontcourt, and running more than 1-2 plays a game for Marvin.
Personally my worst nightmare is the Hawks signing Joe to a max contract and having to pay him around 20 million a year for his declining years.
Blue
June 28th, 2010
12:57 pm
Let Joe walk. We can easily replace those 23 ppg.
List of relatively inexpensive 2010 UNRESTRICTED free agents who play shooting guard:
Ray Allen
Tony Allen
Flip Murray
John Salmons
Jerry Stackhouse
J.J. Redick
Jannero Pargo
I would take the Allen combo in a heart beat before resigning Joe.
jmoney
June 28th, 2010
12:59 pm
The Hawks would be stupid to not release joe johnson. Forget him and go get John salmons or ray allen or rudy gay. thats gonna be the hawks future right there. Release JOE get someone else
JD
June 28th, 2010
1:00 pm
Anyone who thinks the Hawks will be better off without Joe Johnson either doesn’t know basketball or is just plain stupid. Al Horford is a good NBA player but he’s no Amare Stoudemire. Joe Johnson played the offense his coached demanded and I’d be willing to bet on a shot per minute comparison, Jamal Crawford took more shots than Joe did. Sign Joe, trade Marvin Williams (and Bibby if you can), get a veteran point guard or center, bring Josh Childress back and make another run at the East. It’s going to be wide open next year.
Mike Woodson
June 28th, 2010
1:01 pm
HELL YES WE WANT JOE BACK!! HIRE ME BACK TOO!!
Daniel
June 28th, 2010
1:02 pm
Interesting stat showing Joe’s offensive inefficiency: Points per shot on the Hawks last year.
Al 1.36
Zaza 1.35
Jamal 1.29
Josh 1.27
Marvin 1.23
Joe 1.17
Joe was the 6th most efficient offensive player on the team. This despite Marvin having a down year.
Jameytime
June 28th, 2010
1:02 pm
Why would anyone want Joe Johnson to stay in ATL? He CLEARLY doesnt care to be here and is a playoff choke!
http://TwitPWR.com/LbO/
Hawk Fan Since 66
June 28th, 2010
1:05 pm
Mark I do not think the Hawks will get much worse without JJ. If he goes, I suggest we sign J Childress and start him at the 3. Start Jamal C to replace JJ. Use Jordan C and Marvin to replace the bench points. The 20 pts we lose with JJ gone is more than compensated for by these moves. However, that only gives us status quo. Still need better offensive movement and consistent defense. Hopefully Coach Drew will solve that. Also still need a big to contended with Mr Howard. What thinketh thee?
Veteran Fan
June 28th, 2010
1:08 pm
Chris Paul and Bosh here solve your attendance problem!!!! At least two teams in the East are going to get stronger and with the retirement of Wallace in Boston it could be three. To stand pat with our “CORE” is stupid and reminds me of Boston before the Allen and Garnett trades. We need to get rid of Josh Smith before his prima donna attitude sinks the ship! New Orleans will take him and Marvin off our hands for Chris Paul because Josh can put people in the seats. New York will take JJ and Bibby off our hands and trade us David Lee because he is a free agent and if they really go after Lebron or Amare they can’t pay all of them. Marvin and Bibby’s money plus what we would have paid for JJ allows us to get Bosh to play with Paul and Smith’s contract balances Paul’s. We use the money from Oklahoma City to pay Childress and we have a very exciting team that will sell out Phillips Arena(please no more highlight factory) for every game! You definitely get me and my company as a new season ticket holder and everyone who loves basketball wants to come see a team that rebounds, hustles, and passes the ball again like the Hawks used to do!
Wolverine
June 28th, 2010
1:08 pm
To be quite honest Joe Johnson really wants to leave and more than likely he will be gone. The real question is can we work out a three way sign and Trade with NYC and another team. This is probably the most important summer in Hawks recent history. Lets assume Joe walks who can we realistically get in a sign n trade?
GT Alum
June 28th, 2010
1:08 pm
Mark, you ask if the Hawks’ fan base will support a team that goes back to building. Isn’t everyone always saying the Hawks don’t get much support anyway? If ASG really wants to fill Philips Arena for Hawks games, they have to put together a team that can get past the second round. I don’t know that the Hawks will make that leap in the near future if they re-sign Joe. The real question is does ASG want to risk losing some of their existing fans to try to gain a lot more new ones?
Mark Bradley
June 28th, 2010
1:10 pm
Yeah, GT Alum, but there’s no guarantee a team gets past the second round. Cleveland signed Shaquille O’Neal and traded for Antawn Jamison and lost in Round 2. Dallas traded for Butler and Haywood and lost in Round 1.
skicky
June 28th, 2010
1:12 pm
Keeping Joe is insane. He will only get us to the second round of the playoffs. If we can get a true center, pg or sf for joe it will be good for me.
Ray
June 28th, 2010
1:12 pm
Here is all you need to know about Joe: A few years ago, he left the Phoenix Suns, on the verge of heading to the finals, to join the Hawks, which had won fewer than 20 games. Let me repeat: HE LEFT A TITLE CONTENDER TO JOIN A CELLAR DWELLER.
Simply put, this guy is not a winner. He’s all about himself. Sign and trade him for a couple of good players who only want to win.
Dwayne
June 28th, 2010
1:17 pm
The Octotards are, well, stupid. They probably offer a max deal, at max years like they did Kovelchoke, lucky for Thrasher fans he said NYET, did us a favor and went to NJ, the cess pool capital of the world. We got 2 good players in return. A max deal for JJ, a guy who blasted fans will hamstring the Hawks for the lenght of the contract.
three jack
June 28th, 2010
1:18 pm
sign and trade: jj and marvin (and more if necessary) for the king. time for bold moves from this otherwise hapless franchise.
Dejay
June 28th, 2010
1:20 pm
Dr. Warren is correct, bullseye on the target. Finding the right free agent that fits your team while emptying the piggy-bank for him is a crap-shoot at best. But when you have an opportunity to change the face of your franchise through the draft with high lotto picks, you can’t strike out like the Hawks did several years ago.
During the Billy Knight-error (spelled correctly), they had FIVE LOTTERY PICKS to play with, along with tons of high second round picks. Only one of the guys the self appointed genius selected (Horford) would start on a .500 team right now and that’s a fact. What, you’re putting Childress in the lineup over Pierce, AK47, Carmelo, or Caron Butler?
It could be argued that had a guy from this blog, Hawksquawk, RealGm, Peachtree Hoops, or some intern from the AJC had been in charge of drafting guys instead of BK, we would’ve had this conversation of whether we’re ‘good enough for prime time’ 2-3 years ago instead of today. It could be argued that Iso-Joe wouldn’t had been the focal point of the offense the last three seasons had Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Al Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, or even Monte Ellis (remember Salim Stoudamire?) had been here riding shotgun alongside him instead of scrubs like Marvin, Acie Law, and Childress, let alone Shelden. It could be argued that while Horford wouldn’t be here because the team would’ve gotten better much faster, the $$$$ spent on the likes of Speedy Claxton and Bibby could’ve been allocated to bringing in the big man the team needs right now (that’s if they didn’t already draft Jefferson to begin with).
Stuff like this is why it’s soooooo hard for folks to embrace this franchise in this town. This team don’t make the hard decisions and when it does, it’s always the wrong one. There’s a reason as to why it took over a quarter-century for them to finally draft a guy who made an All-Star team. There’s a reason as to why they have to resort to digging through the thrift store to find guys that only play a few more minutes on the court than I do.
If JJ skips town, do you really trust this bunch to pony up the $$$ over the next couple of years?
Do you really think folks would line up to come here?
Do you really think they’ll get it right in the draft if they found themselves back in lotto-land?
Don’t all answer at once….
I MUS WRITE
June 28th, 2010
1:23 pm
Ill be glad when this free agent frenzy is over,its getting to be overkill. JJ is a good second teir player not a player you invest max money in IMO…… Also he is very thin skinned-his comments to the fans were unacceptable and I cant blame those who want him gone.
When your best player /leader??? is a no show two consecutive years in the Playoffs what are the fans to do applaud? I thinks not-see ya JJ its been real,you were a good player for the hawks but its time to part ways. Go be the true #2 that you are living in Lebron or Wades shadow…
Do a S&T with NY, JJ for Lee/T Douglas Then make a play for Rudy Gay and trade ZAZA to Dallas for Haywood or use the draft rights to Chillz for Mcgee and we would be okay for next year -Line up looks as such….
Starters-Teague,Ja.Creawford,Rudy Gay,Smoove,Horford/Lee
Bench-Bibby,Jordan Crawford,Marvin,Haywood,T Douglas,R Morris,G Siler
Jamal as a starter will average between 18-21 per game so the loss of JJ wont hurt as much as sum think,we will miss he defense though but like I said its time to move on.
59bulldawg
June 28th, 2010
1:25 pm
Let the bum go! Yeah he’s got talent but I don’t think it’s a given we’ll be worse without him. Team chemistry will certainly be better. Horford is a much better investment. Save the money for him. The kid shows up every night.
NOTSO FAST
June 28th, 2010
1:25 pm
JJ has to go. We need to get all we can for him,sigh & trade. JJ will not get us past the 2nd round.JJ is not the player that will ever be a the player that people will buy tickets to see play. Good but not great.We need great.
Nick
June 28th, 2010
1:28 pm
We definitely need Joe back. If we lose him, we will not get any near his talent to replace them. Then we still not have a true center and lose a top guard
ryan
June 28th, 2010
1:29 pm
I think Joe leaves there be total chaos in the ASG ownership. There will be a lot of finger pointing you thought the Steve Belkin saga was bad wait till July 1st.
tidog
June 28th, 2010
1:32 pm
If coach Woodson wanted less shots from Johnson and more ball distribution then he should demanded it and made darn sure his plays involved more players. He did neither and hence he’s gone.
Chip Shot
June 28th, 2010
1:33 pm
some of you guys have no clue. whoever says sign and trade for david lee who is an UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT!!!!! so that wont work and you cannot trade for heywood either because he too is an UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT!!! that means they have to be re-signed by their current team first before you can even think S&T so thats not gonna happen. think people, think.
Mark Bradley
June 28th, 2010
1:35 pm
Actually, that can work, Chip Shot. You can do a sign-and-trade both ways, as I understand it.
Stuart
June 28th, 2010
1:36 pm
Joe is definitely an irreplaceable talent. The team would take a hit if he were to leave. Is he worth being paid the same amount as LeBron or Wade when he usually doesn’t come through when we need him to? I’m still not sure… But I guess there wouldn’t be a replacement that would be at his talent level anyway. Plus, a good point was made in that the ASG isn’t likely to spend any money if they’re not signing a big player like Joe (or someone bigger…). So it may be the best option for the Hawks to keep him.
Mark, at this point right now, what do you think Joe will do? Stay? Go? –If so, where? And if he does go, what’s the likelihood that the Hawks can get another big name player in a sign and trade?
uga_b
June 28th, 2010
1:36 pm
Well the good new is, Mr. Bradley, that either way we don’t have to worry about him showing up for any of the Hawks’ playoff games. Thank you…Thank you… Try the shrimp!
uga_b
June 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
I can’t remember another Atlanta “all-star” player that I have been this ambivalent about. I understand he is good, but I don’t care if he goes. Maybe Texeira? Chris Chandler?
dub366
June 28th, 2010
1:40 pm
I would rather have someone here that wants to win than someone who is all about money.I think the reason JOE had a bad playoff was he played too many minutes. We have too many options besides Joe Johnson. It would be nice if he would sign, but in the meantime you have to move on. There has to be someone out there willing to sign and play for the Atlanta Hawks under the new coaching sheen who knows things will be better in Atlanta under Larry Drew.
Mark Bradley
June 28th, 2010
1:42 pm
That’s well said, uga b.
Richard Denson
June 28th, 2010
1:45 pm
I want Joe Johnson to stay. I think he is worth all that money. With the exception of Domonique & Pistol Pete he is the greatest Atlanta Hawk player ever. We need him. He is my favorite player. He is in the top 5 best players in the NBA. With this new philosophy of Larry Drew I think he will get better and the hawks will win the champonship…….someday. And Joe Johnson’s jersey will be retired and we will remember that if Joe would be Joe then we were the best team in the NBA. I think we just need another big and J-Smoove needing to be able to shoot. That’s why it was iso-joe and iso-crawford. We couldn’t spread it out bcuz J-smoove can’t shoot!
Howard
June 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
Signing JJ in the first place was the mistake the Hawks made. If JJ is your leader then he should be able to carry the team in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line. I can’t remember a game where that happened. Most of the time in close games they won in spite of him in the fourth quarter. I give him credit because he does give effort, generally is a nice guy regardless of his recent statements, and does play good defense for a player who is depended upon for his offense. The problem is that the Hawks management saw him as a go-to star and that is not what he is. On a team like Boston or LA where ownership is willing to spend money on complimentary players he would be fantastic. But on the Hawks, no. I am not a big believer in spending a lot of money on a shooting guard or a small forward. The guys that make a team win championship in the NBA are the centers and the point guards unless you have a Coby or Lebron. I would rather see a .500 team that passes and shares the ball with hope for some good drafts in the future than keep JJ. I am disappointed that the Hawks did not draft one of several centers that could have developed over the years. The owners act like they are panicked to put a team that draws on the court but their methods lead at best to mediocrity because the will never spend what it really takes.
Johnny DangerDawg
June 28th, 2010
2:04 pm
Joe said he doesn’t care about winning or losing. That’s why I say let him leave. If Hawks really stink without him, that just means a high draft pick the following year.