The Hawks overpaid for Joe Johnson, but they had to do it
Some who cover the NBA are aghast that the Hawks have paid $119 million to keep Joe Johnson. Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports and the blog Ball Don’t Lie calls it: “Worst contract, ever.” John Hollinger of ESPN.com’s Insider (link requires registration) writes: “The Hawks might have won the battle here, but as a result they’ll almost certainly lose the war.”
The crux of these reasoned arguments: Johnson isn’t worth that much money now, and he absolutely won’t be worth it five years hence. I’d offer no rebuttal on either point, but I will offer a rebuttal. (I know that sounds weird. Hear me out.)
The Hawks have arrived at a precarious point. They’ve gotten good but not good enough. They were so bad against Orlando — historically bad, you’ll recall — that it cost Mike Woodson his job and threatened to override every painful gain made these past six seasons. The local audience, which never quite bought into the notion of the Hawks as legitimate, is again poised to tune them out.
Many Hawks fans aren’t crazy about Johnson — who, as we heard after Game 3 of Round 2, isn’t crazy about Hawks fans — but I submit that those same folks would have seized the loss of J-J-J-Joe as reason to wash their hands of this operation. Because there was no way the Hawks could have let Johnson leave and been as good next season.
They could have tinkered till the cows came home, but they couldn’t have offset the loss of sheer talent: Not with a sign-and-trade for Johnson, not with anyone signed to the mid-level exception as a free agent, not with the drafting of Jordan Crawford. They’d have gotten worse, and we saw earlier this century how we as Atlantans respond to a Hawks’ team that gets worse.
We stop caring. We stop buying tickets. If we mention the Hawks at all, it’s as an object of derision. And this team has come too far to retreat into rebuilding mode again so soon.
To state the obvious: Johnson isn’t Kobe Bryant or LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. He’s not a strap-the-team-on-his-back superstar. He is, however, a very good player who could be even more effective if he stopped trying to play like a superstar. This is what Larry Drew, the Hawks’ new coach, wants: For Johnson to be first among equals, not the leader of the pack.
Contrary to popular belief, the Hawks are not complete idiots. They know they’ve overpaid Johnson, but overpaying was the only way to keep him. And the consequences of not keeping him more than offset, at least in the short run, the outlay.
Had Johnson left, we’d have said: “See there? The Hawks’ best player no longer wanted any part of them.” And surely every other big-ticket free agent this summer and in coming summers would have noted that Johnson wasn’t willing to stick around even after his team won 53 games. That’s almost an indelible mark: If the chief Hawk didn’t think Atlanta could ever win any bigger, why should anybody else?
Yes, this contract will become an albatross soon. Johnson will not be worth $20 million in Year 4, or Year 5, or Year 6. But overpaying now was the price for being seen as a team willing to compete, and such is the nature of the Atlanta Spirit that these owners might not be the ones paying Johnson in 2013-2014.
By keeping Joe Johnson, the Hawks have left open their window of opportunity. They have four very good players under contract for next season — Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Jamal Crawford — and with that nucleus they still have a chance. They’ll need Jeff Teague to develop and they’ll need to deepen their bench, but they have a chance.
They entered free agency with two choices: Overpay J.J. and remain a factor in the NBA East, or save the money and sink back to irrelevance. They chose to remain relevant, and good for them.
One thing more: This might well be a bad contract, but it’s not the worst in NBA history. It’s not even the worst in Hawks’ history. Alan Henderson’s was worse. Speedy Claxton’s was worse. Jon Koncak’s was worse.
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194 comments Add your comment
htwo0rider
July 7th, 2010
7:29 pm
They did not have to pay JJ all that dough. He’s a nice, but not a marquee player, which sums up the hawks…They have no one on the roster who can take over a game. Until that happens, no nba championships in the Atl.
Pi$$onaDawg
July 7th, 2010
7:34 pm
I went to buy a JJ Jersey and they wanted $739.00 for it. I saw a Vick #7 Falcon’s jersey for $1.75 & an Eagles #7 for $3.25. I figured if I was going to wipe my butt with something I would go with the Value for the dollar and I got both of the Vick Jerseys.
oldmikey
July 7th, 2010
7:34 pm
Time will tell. Think Larry Drew will make Joe smarter?
KevinM
July 7th, 2010
7:58 pm
JJ got money for basically not improving an iota the past few years. He has proven we can’t go forward with him as the #1. Now, how do we go about getting a #1 in here?
Not many choices either…
- Quit asking for Carmelo…no reason to come here
- LeBron isn’t even being discussed other than can we hold him below 30 when we play him.
Me, I go for it this year now that the East will be realigned. We still have a chance to improve this team this offseason. Perhaps Monte Ellis makes us better immediately if we could get a big man in here.
E43
July 7th, 2010
8:11 pm
I agree with you Mark. I just think that atlanta needs to let things run their course. it sounds like a bad contract as of 3 years from now but we don’t even know if Joe will be a hawks as of February next year. we don’t know if Marvin will go through a path of enlightenment like josh smith did last summer. maybe our bench needs Bibby to help with ball movement. current hawks will retire as of 6 years.Who knows what will happen? what we do know is that joe johnson is the closest to a top 5 SG we will ever get coz truth is that if you want a superstar, the best thing to do is to draft one. this years free agency was all about wade and lebron when at the end of the day. neither one of them will even change teams.
PaulieOldSchool
July 7th, 2010
8:21 pm
There’s one reason JJ signed or, rather, 119 million reasons. That’s it. Not cause he wants to be here, not ’cause he wants to win a ring here. No matter his point totals. he’s less effective every year and will be a dead-freaking loss in about 3 years. Not a leader, not a superstar, not a winner. If the Hawks sign Shaq, I will curse the day that the franchise set up operations in this burg and will petition that they renovate the Arena to resemble a circus tent.
John
July 7th, 2010
8:46 pm
Can’t be knowing how the money compared, but there are plenty of bad Hawks contracts besides the worthy ones you’ve already mentioned.
As a long-suffering fan I can tell you the Atlanta men’s pro basketball team has dressed out more stiffs than Patterson’s Funeral Home.
How about:
Marvin Williams – and we coulda had Chris Paul – hell, Chris Evert would be an improvement
Adam Keefe – even Utah cut this white boy loose
Rumeal Robinson – uncoachable
John Brown – When your nickname is “Fundamentally Sound” a gate attraction you ain’t
Bill Willloughby – “Willow” shoulda taken the scholarship to Kentucky instead of jumping from high school to the pros
Sheldon Williams – Dukies always suck as pros. At least the ones who wear Hawks jerseys do
Chris Washburn – whatta waste of space – the guy was an imbecile, literally
Isaiah Rider – a bad citizen even by UNLV standards (that’s an oxymoron if ever there was one)
Tim McCormick – freaking Pete Babcock traded Kenny Williams to Houston for a gimp like McCormick.
Dave
July 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
Re. your last paragraph: OK, it’s the fourth worst contract in Hawks history. They’d be better off tanking for a couple of seasons than tying themselves to a good, nowhere near great, now completely overpaid, player for the foreseeable future. Prediction – they end up with fewer wins than they had this year and don’t make it past the first round, if that, in the playoffs.
Pi$$onaDawg
July 7th, 2010
9:52 pm
Mark Bradley is there any truth to the rumor that 1-800-GOT-JUNK wants to buy the naming rights to Phillips Areana?
Hawker P)
July 7th, 2010
9:56 pm
jj contract: one of the 3 worst in sports history! paying $120 million for a stiff who can’t even score on isos? Amazing, but typical of the loserville morons who run atlanta teams.
JQP
July 7th, 2010
10:05 pm
Absolutely no reason to think Joe won’t be just as good as Paul Pierce at age 32-33. Joe was not the reason Dwight Howard shot 85% in the Orlando Series. No Joe would equal no playoffs, no shot for at least the next two years. You get in the playoffs with a top 4 seed, you have a chance.
He doesn’t flap his yap and demand press as much as Lebron, Wade, Pierce etc. but his skill set is awesome. Great contract decision.
MitchC
July 7th, 2010
10:12 pm
Mark, you are right on both counts. The way I see it is this. Five years ago, this team was the joke of basketball, losers of 69 games. Now, they are a very good team in the Eastern Conference. Depending on whether Lebron leaves or stays, number three, or four, behind Orlando, Boston, and maybe, the Cavs, or whoever Lebron ends up with, not necessarially in that order.
The owners didnt want to take a step back, so they paid more to win now, and risked some money for later. My bet is: Johnson remains productive.
Bottom line, barring injury, this move keeps the Hawks at a level where the mid to late 80s and late 90s Hawks were, a 50 plus win team, that will compete deep into the Eastern Conference each year.
harry the hawk
July 7th, 2010
10:37 pm
The problem with JJ’s money is three-fold, in my opinion:
a) giving him max money and knowing you’re not getting good enough to get to the promised land (since, going in, it hamstrings you from signing other much-needed pieces….while your comp gets decidedly better) is, arguably, bad business
b) giving him max money and knowing he isn’t the type of personality or player who can REALLY be depended on as a source to attract other elite players is bad business (the FA process made it clear elite players view JJ as THEIR sidekick…..and not the other way around) and
c) JJ’s a good player— but not the type of superstar personality—read, max contract guy– who can actually put more fanny’s in the seats….unless the team can crank it up two notches, this has to be looked at as a bad business move.
Given all of the above, how do the Hawks propose to make a return on their max investment?
To the last point, even if they have as good a year next year (Mia, Bos, Orl…whew), with the same nucleus, how many more seats will they fill than this year?
Why not take the short-term hit and build for the future with a real plan, rather than looking at the 4th year of JJ’s deal as a potential out if it doesn’t work?
Appears the Hawks approached this with the Knicks mentality……panic first, figure out the important stuff on the fly. This sums up why they’ll never be a winning franchise, in my opinion.
Raybud
July 7th, 2010
10:42 pm
I am currently listening how everyone down Larry Drew. Does anyone know the name of the bulls assistant that got hired in the 80’s after Doug Collins was fired? Let me give you a clue….he has won 11 championship rings since. I know that some may say that this was lucky, but if the Bulls brass didn’t give him a chance, we may not be talking about this today.
cdog
July 7th, 2010
11:20 pm
good points northcyde, but unless we address the problems in the middle, i see miami being ahead of us.we don’t need to hesistate, if shaq can be had, we need to get him.he’s not going to run the floor but he will get the rebound and start the fast break.also, remember last year, the games we use to be assured to lose were the games where we would get into a half court game.we were so small, so usually we ended up relying on jump shots.when we went up against a good defensive team we usually stunk up the joint and lost because we had no inside game on neither end of the court.with shaq, we will be able to control the middle on either end plus it will step up josh smith and hortford games also on either end.
H8ters Suck....
July 7th, 2010
11:30 pm
man, you guys are terrible, I bet all you JJ H8ters and Mini-Gm’s still buy gas from BP don’t you?? Idiots….. no I’m not a season ticket holder but damn, at least the Hawks are trying. Since yall H8ters suck so much, go suck some of that oil out the Gulf!!
H8ters Suck....
July 7th, 2010
11:34 pm
all I’ve been reading is, Hawks should have done a sign and trade or they could have gone out and gotten Wade or Bosh…..do you know how stupid you sound?? Yeah we coudl have done a sing and trade, but who are you going to sign and trade with?? This isn’t NBA Live or Fantasy Basketball where you can just make up Fantasy trades, moreso you’d be foolish to trade Joe for anything less than a player of need. Secondly, the Hawks were never in the running for Wade or Bosh or Lebron for that matter……
KevinM
July 8th, 2010
12:23 am
Raybud, nothing against LD, but truly, should you really throw out the Phil Jackson comparison? Jackson had previously been a head coach before he took over in Chicago…..big difference IMO.
LD never played on a championship team or has never led a team……huge difference.
Time will tell, but that coaching search was about as laughable as it comes. Was LD inserted to make sure JJ came back? Seems that way, but we will see if there is a game plan that doesn’t have iso-Joe in its final plot.
I will let LD prove himself, but it truly is nothing the ASG and Sund talked about when they said they needed a fresh voice. Again, not much done so far this offseason to get your ticket-holders excited about. I’m just glad practice the preseason doesn’t start next week.
Drew
July 8th, 2010
12:29 am
I see Bradley’s point. We can easily say we would take the hit and get less wins in the short term if it meant better long term effects but ultimately sports are about, “what are you doing for me now”. Also many people who like JJ are pissed (me included) because he was disrespectful to the fans in the playoff’s; he needs to try to patch relations with the fan base IMO. Also if ATL had gotten Boston in the 2nd round we would have possibly made it to the finals. We were HORRIBLE against Orlando this year, not great but better against Cleveland, dominated Boston and some other elite teams. Then again we were bad against the subpar Knicks. Orlando was simply not a good match up for ATL.
Halsey
July 8th, 2010
4:49 am
Good article. I just wish the Hawks didn’t have to pay JJ nearly 20 mill per year. Why not 6 years at a few less million per year? Why not 5 years? It just seems like the NBA is built to force inflated contracts on many teams.
BUBBA
July 8th, 2010
6:32 am
overpaid? NO S**T
Ghost of Lloyd Bentsen
July 8th, 2010
6:44 am
I know Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson is my friend. Larry Drew is no Phil Jackson.
Curious George
July 8th, 2010
7:52 am
Is there a morals clause in Joe Johnson’s contract which gives the Hawks an out of this ridiculous salary in case JJ is busted for DUI with Courtney Fuhrmann’s undergarments in his lap and her drunkenly stumbling out his car to his defense?
JoD
July 8th, 2010
7:58 am
If they are willing to pay it to him, then by definition…he’s not overpaid..enough said.
TommyP
July 8th, 2010
8:09 am
Good article, Mark, and good job yesterday on Knoxville radio.
The problem with the naysayers in all of this is they believe we could’ve replaced Joe with another big time talent. The cap rules don’t work like that. I believe it was Michael Cunningham that broke down the cap weeks ago and showed the Hawks wouldn’t have but around $8 or $9 million to spend on a FA. In other words, there wasn’t a talent equal to Joe out there that we could’ve signed.
Force-feed Teague at the point and entertain offers for Josh Smith. Notice I didn’t say trade him but see what the market is for him. I would imagine the loser in all of this FA merry-go-round on ESPN would overpay for Smith in a sign and trade.
TommyP
July 8th, 2010
8:11 am
In a trade, not sign and trade.
juice sourcer
July 8th, 2010
8:32 am
Crazy deal…will never, ever get past the 1st round with Johnson. Let him go. Save the money and do something else with it to create a better fan experience…like lower prices and better and cheaper food. The Hawks may win less but we can still see the best players in the world come in and Altanta will never win it all with Johnson so who cares.
Loser
July 8th, 2010
9:01 am
There’s a good reason that everyone around the country calls atlanta loserville—more dumb decisions by clueless morons owning these sports teams. It never changes.
cdog
July 8th, 2010
9:04 am
everyone is yelling that the hawks is not going to beat miami, orlando, chicago and milwaukee.JARVIS,you are wrong about hiring billy knight being a blunder..knight put the current pieces together that transform the team into a winner.AM I NOT SHOCKED BUT EVERYONE HAS A SOLUTION WHY THE HAWKS CAN’T GET PAST THESE TEAMS MENTIONED.WELL, WHEN MIKE WOODSON WAS HERE, YOU BLAMED HIM FOR THE LOST TO THE MAJIC.BUT THE REAL MAIN PROBLEM WE HAVE IS RICK SUND.NO ONE EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT MENTIONED HIM. WHY AM I NOT SHOCKED?BECAUSE THATS THE WAY OF THE WORLD.SUND HASN’T ATTEMPTED TO BETTER THE FRANCHISE.WITH THE WAY HE DEALS,THINK ABOUT IF ROLES WERE REVERSED AND SUND WOULD HAVE BEEN HIRED IN THE PLACE OF KNIGHT BACK THEN.PICTURE WHERE THE HAWKS WOULD BE NOW WITH HIM AS GM.THE TEAM WOULD HAVE NEVER BECAME A PLAYOFF CONTENDER.HE WOULD HAVE LONG BEEN FIRED BY NOW.THE ONLY MOVE YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN FROM HIM WAS A CELL PHONE STUCK IN HIS EAR AND NO ACTION.NO ONE EXCEPT A FEW ONLY MENTIONED SUND AS THE PROBLEM.BUT EVERYONE WAS AGAINST WOODSON WHEN THE MAIN PROBLEM WAS AND IS NOW, RICK SUND
KB
July 8th, 2010
9:40 am
I am with Crippled Hawks. The Hawks mgt and M. Bradley are foolish. Bill Parcells said long time ago “You are who you are.” JJ is a no. #2 option. The first contract he sign was too much. He has proven to be a good player, but not one to build a team around.
Because the Hawks mgt waited too late to get into free agency, they miss out on some options at a cheap rate (J. Salmos in Milauwkee, R. Hamilton in Detroit, K. Korver in Utah, or R. Jefferson in San Antonio). Let’s face it. JJ is not the guy you give the ball to when the game is on the line. I would give it to Horford. If you got Horford the money, I could see that. But JJ, hell to no….
Another option would be through the draft and pick up D. Butler out of West Virginia. Give him time to get his knee right and let him roll. He could have worked. And while we are on the draft, the Hawks could have made a deal and get the D. Pittman out of Texas to put center. Put him in gym to get his cardio on point and there you go. A half way decent center to put with Horford. He would be the muscle for Horford and keep the dogs off him.
One last point, why do people harp on and saying we need a put point gaurd? Why did get draft Teague out of Wake Forest last year? You don’t play him so he can learn on the job (Which is the one true way to learn how to run your club anyway.) You got rid of the A. Law for no good reason which in turn wasted a draft pick anyway. If R.Rondo can be groomed with the Celtics by playing or T. Parker with the Spurs by playing, why can’t Hawks do the same?
Jim
July 8th, 2010
9:44 am
I say all the fans get together opening night and send a loud chorus of boos down the first game he is announced and then move on. Get it out of your system and move forward. But he must be booed and booed loudly for that comment about the fans last year, after shooting bricks all night.
He will not care, but the organization will take note and that is the real target.
KB
July 8th, 2010
9:55 am
One correction: I would talk to Portland and see if I can get J. Prizbilla or G. Odom for M. Williams and throw in M. Bibby.
Jim
July 8th, 2010
9:58 am
@ Loser, like your comment, you absolutely hit the nail on the head.
Chris D'
July 8th, 2010
10:11 am
“One thing more: This might well be a bad contract, but it’s not the worst in NBA history. It’s not even the worst in Hawks’ history. Alan Henderson’s was worse. Speedy Claxton’s was worse. Jon Koncak’s was worse.”
What is this based on? After Joe Johnson committed to stay with the Hawks for a Max deal the Hawks have not lost or won a single game. They have not made the playoffs or missed the playoffs since this deal was announced. They have committed themselves to having the same team for the foreseeable future with about 1/3 of the payroll tied to one player.
Annoyed Hawks fan
July 8th, 2010
10:42 am
JJ IS NOT WORTH $120 million dollars. I did not forget his weak performance and lack of leadership. Hawks should have said holler!
Hawks should have spent that kind of $ on a Carmelo Anthony or try to get CP3 in a trade.
Disgusted with the Hawks’ owners and management – and i have been a fan since the human highlight was on the team.
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Scarface
July 9th, 2010
12:50 pm
Bring Shaq !!!!!
GM
July 9th, 2010
8:03 pm
Great article! I couldn’t agree more with the points you made.
Paddy
July 10th, 2010
8:39 am
Drew has an offense that nobody has ever seen????? Really? Call the comedy channel. You might see the Hawks have their own show. Say that again. None of the all-time great coaches have ever thought this offense would work but Drew is now smarter than the room. This won’t be fun, it will be ugly.
Baker
July 10th, 2010
2:30 pm
Here’s what I don’t get, what other NBA team would have paid Joe Johnoson $20 MILL a year? The Knicks? Nets? I think we could have still kept him for less money. You don’t think we could have used that money to bring in a more effective superstar?
Also, I just have to laugh when you mentioned Alan Henderson, that was really bad. You’re right, that was probably the worst.
atlien85
July 13th, 2010
9:29 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. And let’s not forget that we went seven games with the Bucks people! The Bucks I say!
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.
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