Joe Johnson - "We could care less if they show up"

Well, he couldn't have picked a worse time to lay an egg. Consequently, he probably just played his way out of a key free agent contract. I'm just going to assume he re-signs in Atlanta for something along the lines of the original extension that he refused during the season. That or with any luck, a cheaper deal. I have a hard time seeing him do better in free agency than the 4 year, $60M extension he turned down earlier this season.

His limitations as a player are VERY frustrating but his value to that team when everybody's heads are screwed on right is pretty significant. If you remove him from the equation the Hawks are a total doormat with Horford, Crawford and Josh Smith leading the way. I say try to re-sign him to something reasonable then address the other needs. In any event, try to bring in another star that's perhaps capable of stepping up and taking control whenever times get rough since JJ clearly can't do that.

 

Johnson's been playing like he's ready to leave for New York ever since the playoffs got started. A true go-to guy and/or team leader wouldn't have let his team go to Game 7 against a smaller Bucks team and wouldn't have let his team drop the past 3 games like they have. Johnson's as good as gone.

 

Joe Johnson's stock is tumbling down like the Dot com bubble.

 

Regardless of what you think of him, JJ is the Hawks best player and losing him for nothing would damage the franchise. Going from a 2nd round loss in the playoffs to the lottery would be hard to swallow. They need to get something in return for him if possible. If he comes back, $60MM over 4 yrs seems a bit steep but I bet a least one team with huge cap space makes him that offer.

 

Yeah I agree that someone in the NBA would offer him 60 mil, just because their is no one better at that price.

Anyway...its kinda stupid for him to say that though. The fans are the life source for any franchise. To down play the source of money is just dumb.

 

I disagreed with the boo-ing until I saw they lost by 40.. at home.. and also the fact losing game 1 by 43..

 

Johnson's just another 2nd Banana Player that going to get Alpha Dog Money. Simple as that.

 

hope he goes to the knicks

*crosses fingers*

:grin:

 

You can't judge a player's value simply by looking at the stats. I know that sounds like an elementary concept, but it seems like a point needed to be stressed here.

By and large, he was a fantastic acquisition and a player that's more than earned his salary. He's been the backbone of a playoff team that's improved over each of the last six years and his numerous responsibilities on that team have been stressed a number of times. The fact of the matter is he's still a fantastic player that does a ton of great things when he's out there. He just needs to be on a team where he isn't the best player/leader.

 

He's not really their best player, what kind of best player wilts under pressure like that? During the past three years JJ has posted a regular season PER of 18.2, however during the playoffs it drops dramtically to 14.4. IMHO Horford is their best player NOW and their best player for the forseeable future. They should start building around him and trade guys like Marvin Williams or the right to Childress for pieces that will fit well with horford. If I were them I'd trade Williams for the Magic's Gortat, that will give them a reasonably price big man who can complement them on the court while Magic gets a low priced bench player with a high ceiling which SVG can develop.

 

I strongly disagree with you on JJ vs. Horford. Horford is OK, but without JJ out there as the #1 option, their offense crumbles to dust.

Marvin Williams doesn't have a high ceiling. His dropoff after signing the contract tells you what he's all about. He doesn't have it between the ears to be an impact NBA player. At best, he's a 7th/8th man on a contender who will play lights out 4-5 times/season. Guys like him just don't have it in them to bring it every night. He's a tease who's act no longer fools people. I also don't consider 5yrs/$37MM low-priced for a yoyo bench player.

 

I'm not just judging from stats, I'm looking at him play during the playoffs every year and I get the impression he's just a more well rounded Kevin Martin, i.e. a 3rd banana on a dominant championship team. How can he be a fantastic acquisition when the Hawks paid him the max and they got a Kevin Martin level player?

The Hawks have indeed improved every year, however keep in mind that the most of the improvement came from Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, the drafting of Horford and the acquisition of crawford. None of those came from JJ himself. In fact if you look at JJ's playoff stats they are pathetic. He has winshares of 0.1, -o.1, and 0.2 during the Hawks' last three playoff runs. Compare that with his WS of 1.1 during PHX's last playoff run and the dropoff is enormous.

I know you need to look more than stats, however looking at stats is mandatory and it should be the first thing you look at when you do analysis. I mean the guy's shot 12 out of 42 their last 3 games and has running FG% of 41% during his Hawks playoff runs. Do you understand how bad that is? Shane "the Teflon Don" Battier has shoots 43% during the playoffs. What does it say to a max player's game when a 7M player scores more efficiently than you, plays D as good as you and has 2x the intangibles as you do?

How can you still say he's the Hawk's best player with a straight face?

 

I'm not saying Horford is a top of the line big man. However its better to build around a young guy like him than pin your hopes on someone who's proven he can't handle the hot lights of the playoffs.

As for Marvin Williams, the kid has really good athletecism, good shooting form, and isn't basketball IQ r****ded. He's only 23, there's a lot of time for him to improve his game. IMHO Mike Woodson isn't really the player developing type, so my guess is Williams was basically left to develop largely on his own. We all know the difference between good development vs. bad development by watching what happened with Jordan Hill, the guy went from a lottery bust to a possible centerpiece in a Bosh package. I'd like to see what a good coach can do for his game.

 

The Hawks have one of the worst fan bases in the league with memphis .. Indiana and Minnesota ..

It was unnessacry by Johnson to say what he said .. But I dont mind fan booing if the showup everyday .. but in Atlanta even with big games there are alot of empty seats ..

 

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsjo02.html

Joe Johnson is your typical "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" (or is it "Joe of all Trades"?). The one thing that JJ that's really at an elite level is minutes played-- every year, he puts in his 40 mpg and rarely misses games. Otherwise, he's a pretty good scorer, but not really amazing in volume and his efficiency is only average. He's a good passer, but hardly a Nash or even McGrady. It will be interesting to see what 40-mpg of above-average earns him.

 

joe johnson is at most a 12-13 million dollar player. his reg. season stats/performances are nice and all but those stats aren't even max money stats.

and a lot of ppl are "shocked" that joe is playing so bad i nthe playoffs. they need to check out his previous playoff performances. he's been worse. dude isn't made for the playoffs for some damn reason. and it ain't like atlanta has a ton of pressure to win besides the first round. usualy when you're the underdog, you freakin' play better.

if you're going to lose, do something about it.

 

The Hawks, like the Mavs, are only a great 'regular' season team....that's all!

 

They really should be booing the guy that gave marvin williams 9 million per year ..

 

I can't say that I blame Atlanta fans. Orlando is a very good team, but "blowing you out by nearly 30 points a game" heck no. If the current Rockets played that Magic, right now, or a few weeks ago, they would make every game competitive, especially it being the playoffs (the one thing I can respect about this team more than anything, regardless of talent and injuries, you are going to get a maximum effort from them, night in and night out).

I do not think I can put all the blame on Mike Woodson or any other coach, if a team crushed in the playoffs or swept like the Spurs were. It happens sometimes where a team is just better than another one. But you have to question the mental makeup of that team, when they nearly blow a series against a weakened Milwaukee team and not shown up in any of the Semi-Finals' games. Especially when the guy who is supposed to be leading the team or at least given the maximum production, because he is becoming a free agent this summer.

JJ is a big part of why they are losing, so much to the point that they cannot even remain competitive. This is a good display to alot of teams to prove that he is not worth maximum dollars, while Atlanta may go in another direction. #ell, they could throw their hat in the Free Agent ring, like everyone else and land someone, like Boozer, Lee, or even Chris Bosh to pair with Horford or even buy a center move Horford down to power forward (his natural position) and get Shooting guard in the draft or next year.