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Hawks Land JJ

Authored by Patrick J. Austin - August 1, 2005 - 1:40 pm

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After being shunned by the likes of Samuel Dalembert, Ray Allen, and Stromile Swift the Hawks finally landed a big-name free agent in Joe Johnson. Though, he didn’t come cheap. His contract is estimated to be worth seventy million dollars over five years with a balloon payment of nearly twenty million dollars in the first year.

Due to his restricted free agent status, the Suns and Hawks agreed to a sign and trade which cost us Boris Diaw and two future first round picks(both lottery protected).

When I first heard the deal, my mouth dropped open in utter shock. A part of me was filled with joy knowing that we acquired a true all-star talent. But, of course, the cynic in me began to question the move.

Why give up so much for a player we could have gotten for nothing? I know many people will say the Suns would have matched and we had to give them something. Personally, I don’t believe that’s true. Phoenix took a hard-line stance with Johnson and hesitated to even offer a six-year/sixty million dollar contract. I don’t think they would have matched a five-year/seventy million dollar offer sheet with a first year salary of twenty million dollars.

Even if Phoenix demanded compensation, why give up a young wingman AND two first round picks? That’s an awful lot for a rebuilding team to give up. Yes, the picks are lottery protected but that doesn’t mean they won’t turn into some very productive talent down the road.

What puzzles me the most is why did we invest so much in another perimeter player? Let’s make things perfectly clear—Joe Johnson is not a point guard! He has point guard skills, but he’s not a distributor. He’s got great handles for someone his size, but he’s never been a full-time floor general for an NBA team.

His move to the point could be disastrous for the maturation of our young talent. Billy Knight needs to realize that a true playmaker is necessary for the core to improve. Someone who can get our young guns the ball so they can be productive. Johnson is a young gun himself who’ll be looking to put up big numbers in order to justify his huge contract. That’s great for JJ, but potentially detrimental for the team.

Of course, I need to try and be an optimist. Even will all these questions you can’t question JJ’s talent. He’s a very, very good player who could turn into a superstar. And I could be wrong. Maybe he can handle the transition to point guard and become a poor man’s Magic Johnson. Hey, anything is possible.