IMO, JJ is a very good player. But from Phoenix' perspective, Amare is The Man and their first priority is making sure there will be enough dough to re-sign him next summer. I think it will all come down to making a choice b/t JJ and Marion. They will only sign JJ to the MAX if they are first able to trade Marion away for expiring contracts.
Jason Richardson signed a 6 year deal at around $73 million last year. This is a bargain. If he was a FA this year, he'd get a max contract. Most people on this board are still thinking of the Richardson that could only dunk and dunk some more. In the past 2 years, he has improved his game so much that he can take over games on both ends of the floor. I think he's underrated for what he does.
Joe Johnson gets max offer from Hawks I think he's worth every penny too. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2103569 Larry Hughes has come to terms with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a five-year deal, his agent, Jeff Wechsler, told ESPN Insider Chad Ford. "Larry intends to sign a contract with the Cavs when the moritorium ends," Wechsler said. Wechsler wouldn't comment on the actual numbers of the deal, but it's believed to be a five-year deal between $65 million and $70 million. Wechsler told Insider that he informed Washington Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld on Thursday that Hughes won't be returning to the Wizards. Grunfeld told ESPN.com that he was prohibited from commenting on the situation, citing league rules that prevent teams from commenting on free agency until the moratorium passes. For the Cavs, Hughes gives them a great scorer and defender to put at the two alongside LeBron James. Hughes is a fantastic ball handler and rebounder for a two-guard making him -- like LeBron -- a very versatile piece in the puzzle. However, he's not a perfect fit in Cleveland. Hughes is not a good three point shooter (a big need for the Cavs), has a history of injuries and has been inconsistent throughout his career. The Cavs had pursued both Ray Allen and Michael Redd before settling on Hughes. With Hughes on board, the Cavs will now focus their atttention on bringing back free agent Zydrunas Ilgauskas. They're also in hot pursuit of Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, widely regarded as the best international player not playing in the NBA. The Cavs should have roughly $15 million left under the cap (based on an estimated $49 million cap) to make it happen. The news comes as major blow to the Wizards, who were confident they could re-sign Hughes. The Wizards eventually offered up to six years, $70 million, a source within the team told ESPN.com, but it wasn't enough to keep Hughes in D.C.. The Wizards now have to start over from scratch. The team now has a big hole at the two to fill and must also deal with the likely departure of Kwame Brown. The Wizards can get about $9 million below the cap if they don't re-sign Brown. However, the market for two guards is getting thin. The last major two guard on the market is Joe Johnson. However, Johnson is a restricted free agent and most teams believe that the Suns will match any offer. There's also talk from multiple league sources that Johnson is in serious negotiations with the Atlanta Hawks about signing a max offer sheet. That leaves Bobby Simmons, Cuttino Mobley and Latrell Sprewell as the top two guards left on the board. The Wizards could also, at this point, try to work out a sign-and-trade with Brown that brings them back a top-flight shooting guard.
And if Pietrus and Diogu have solid seasons next year, I could see the warriors dealing either Murphy or Richardson for expiring contracts if someone is willing to take one of their bad contracts (i.e. Fisher or Foyle). This goes double if they get off to a slow start.
I think the Warriors would look to move Murphy the first chance they get. He is making around 10M a year.
You know, Colangelo got GM of the year, and look at this mess? If Johnson bolts now, after they've already traded away Q, they're up sh*t creek without a paddle. If they match Johnson at max, they're cap situation is a mess, and they could have signed him for 50 million last year. Ridiculous. I have a feeling that in a few years, once Nash has declined and Amare is in his peak and they've found themselves crippled by the cap, people will look back at this past season and think "Colangelo was one of the worst GM's in the league that year." P.S. These teams are all nuts. Ray Allen is the only guy signed to a big deal so far that has been worth his deal, but even then he got too much when you consider his age.
with johnson getting the max atlanta probably won't be able to seriously go after swift. that leaves us and NY whos heavy at the 4. and why is atlanta going after johnson when they have williams, josh smith, donta smith, and josh childress on their team.
Ya, I think it is pretty stupid for atlanta to go after another 2/3, when that is all their team has. Why they did not draft a top flight point guard is still beyond me. Oh well, I guess that is why they are atlanta. The good thing is that now, the rockets do not have much competition for swift.
because they can (and have nothing else to lose) ... as for Stro - its not Atlanta that may sign him, its New Orleans btw - the market for shooting guards is wearing thin... maybe the Rox saw this coming and that is why we drafted a guard and are pursuing a forward in FA
Joe Johnson is a good player but not a max contract guy. Max deals should only go to franchise players, not good role players.
If I was Phoenix, I'd let him walk for the MAX.. Then spend the next 5 years making fun of how bad a mistake Atlanta made. Anyone who pays a roleplayer like JJ the MAX has lost it. I can't believe he's getting this kind of money..
Johnson is close to a max player. Very young, great shooter, outstanding all around player, few flaws. I'd say it is more likely he lives up to his contract than Ray Allen (b/c of age) and no worse a shot as Michael Redd. Either way Phx will not have to offer a 6 year max with 10% raises--that is their max. That is a lot different than the best deal any other team can offer (5 year with 8% riases). As Gater idenitifed, Phx was going over the cap anyway. They are going over it with good players, so what? They are a profitable franchise on the up, and the lux tax, even if they get there is less of a deal now. Worst case is down the line they dump Marion, but Johnson is too important. Just because we were chicken littles a couple of years with the lux tax and had some truly terrible contracts doesn't mean other good teams are shy about signing good young players for big money. Look what SA shelled out for Parker and Manu the last 2 years and Parker has a lot more major flaws the Johnson, they won't be under the cap again until TD retires. Oh hopefully Phx hamstrings Atl or Clev by taking the full 7 days before matching. That all but puts those teams out of the market until whay Aug 5th, that is great!
Looks like the "over paying" of FA's has begun.... We just need to wait and let these teams kill each other with bad contracts.
But I think Phx can make the Hawks wait until August 5th. This is a good thing if the Hawks have their eyes on Johnson or another RFA.
