Johnson’s Not an Option?

by Tommy Dee on April 6th, 2010 at 8:42 am

Via NY Post-

“…Other than those easily led astray investigative types, who honestly believes Johnson would leave a team he hoisted toward the top of the standings and whose stands he helped replenish? Why give up a situation that allows him to become All-Star relevant and handle and shoot the ball whenever he wants, as often as he pleases?

So, one way or the other, the Knicks have no chance to hire Johnson, either as their deadliest gunslinger or as deputy dog to LeBron James.

Especially, the latter!

Ain’t no way Johnson is going to modify his style of game and downscale his governance to be LeBron’s understudy…”

This is true, I guess, if you don’t take Johnson, himself, at his word. He said the following a month ago:

“…“I’ll sacrifice,” Johnson said.

Those words will carry some weight as we head toward July 1, 2010, because there aren’t a whole lot of max-level free agents out there who are willing to go on the record saying they’ll sacrifice money if it translates into success on the court.

But Johnson went ahead and said it Monday, and given the fact that he turned down a five-year max contract extension from the Atlanta Hawks last summer, that statement ranks as an eyebrow-raiser.

“If you really want to win, if that’s your main goal, then you’ll sacrifice…”
  • Mucha

    1. What about the fact that Joe Johnson turned down a $60 million extension last year?

    2. I think Joe Johnson is very disappointed with the low attendance level at Phillips Arena.

    3. Peter Vecsey should listen to some Gucci Mane and drink vodka every once in a while and enjoy himself.

  • grahambo86

    1. That usually is a good indicator.

    2. I think he also realizes that Atlanta is about as good as it can get, especially right now and he is not getting any younger. He will be 29 in late June.

    3. Other then Kobe, I can’t see anybody who wouldn’t want to play with LeBron. Who would you rather be, Karl Malone or Scottie Pippen?

  • jaknicksfan

    I really think we have an excellent shot at Joe Johnson, i dont care what peter vecsey has to say. we can get a few pieces to make us better in 2010 and then in 2011 again, and as Grahambo86 just mentioned its better to be Pippen and “Win” championships than be Malone and have” No Rings”

  • k-hodge

    If you’re a true competitor, you play to win. There are some things that money can not buy, and a championship is one. I think Johnson realizes he can’t do it by himself, and although he has a nice cast in Atlanta, it’s just not enough. Better to hitch his wagon to another elite and go win together. At this level, with the amount of money these guys are making, is there really a difference between say $13m per year and $16m per year? (yes, I know, $3m per year smart asses…LOL)..Seriously, when you’re making that kind of money, to sacrifice $3m a year is nothing. Think of what he’ll make up if he wins a championship in terms of endorsement value? We always talk about Lebron not needing MSG for his marketing appeal, which may be true, but a guy like Joe Johnson would definitely see a bump from the exposure. That, coupled with the opportunity to get to the next level I think would be very appealing, and I think he realizes he ultimately wouldn’t lose much at all. In the end, he would probably gain.

  • traps9

    If we’re talking LeBron’s sidekick, it obviously comes down to what he wants, first, but you have to wonder if TD/LeBron/Gallo/Bosh/BigZ (Camby, whoever) is a better lineup; a better roster fit than TD/JJ/Bron/Gallo/BigZ. Either lineup is fine by me, though.

  • k-hodge

    So let me ask this, if Johnson and say Amare were to each take a little less, perhaps we can get Ginobli and Camby for $3 each? Or at that point do you go on and buy out Eddy to save an extra $2m if they both say they’d do it for $4m? If we put a lineup on the floor of:

    PG – Douglas
    SG – Johnson
    SF – Gallo
    PF – Amare
    C – Camby

    Bench – Wilson/Ginobli/Walker…Is that enough to win? and to keep NY’ers happy? Is it enough to get past the Cleveland Lebrons as constituted?

  • x-man

    Joe Johnson has to know that he’s not a game changer and that coming to NY being under that enormous spotlight with this coach is not in his best interest.

    In Atl, Joe Johnson can make his money and fight for the playoffs. After all, Atlanta has never won anything even when they had the human highlight film Wilkens. Johnson has to know by now that you can’t win a ring without playing defense.

  • x-man

    What are you drinking? lol Ginobli for 3 million? Is this Manu or Mannequin Ginobli? Ginobli coming off the bench for THIS team? Either one I mean! lol

  • bmathews77

    Joe Johnson to me is a question mark when it comes to this free agency. He did leave a winning situation in Phoenix for a ton of money in Atlanta so he seems like he will follow the money. Then again, he’s 29 now and may want to just settle down in one city.
    In my opinion the only free agent I can see definitely signing here is Marcus Camby. I can only see Camby interested in either going back to Denver or NY.

  • k-hodge

    I DID say we could buy out Curry for some extra $$ if we needed to. I don’t think Manu is gonna get much more than the MLE from anybody other than SA. He’s 34, injured a lot, and on the wrong side of his career (although he’s killin it right now)..I just don’t think anybody makes a ridiculous investment there. I put him on the bench to save him so we can get more mileage out of him.

  • x-man

    Did you look at our roster to see how we are paying and how much?

    Ginoboli would be a total fool to leave SA to come here for 3M! We haven’t made the playoffs in years so why would he do that?

    Donnie has a huge job in that he has an awful coach and a very suspect team to sell to stars or potential stars. Donnie has done the easy stuff now comes handling the real job.

  • k-hodge

    X? Have you been paying attention buddy? You do realize that what’s on the floor today is not what’s on the floor tomorrow. Donnie did a complete demolition on this thing and we’re building a whole new house. We’re looking at a total upgrade in talent. To argue the point that THIS team sucks and nobody would want to come play here means that you’ve missed the entire point of this 2 year excercise. Am I saying it’s gonna be Lebron? No, as much as I may like it to be. But this is a total roster overhaul. And if we don’t get Lebron, oh well. There’s only one of him, so that means that 28 other teams don’t have him either, so there’s parity. LOL

  • donnie walsh

    Wow. That is a very selective interpretation of the words “I’ll sacrifice”

  • k-hodge

    And don’t be so sure that Manu would be a “fool” to leave SA. Duncan is on his last leg, and they’re over the cap. They don’t have any trade chips and they’re gonna have a really hard time getting out of the west. They’re on the verge of miserable times in San Antonio. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tony Parker bolt when he gets the opportunity. You have some young up and comers out west, and San Antonio is on the way down, it’s just the order of things. Manu may want one more good shot at getting a ring, and he can have an easier path in the east on a retooled Knicks team paired up with a younger superstar (or group) of stars…

  • PipeDreamin

    i think this roster has potential for ZERO chemistry… Neither Amare or Camby consistently hit the 18 footer. Amare gets it going sometimes, but not consistent.

    Amare is also highly dependent on the pick and roll, but Tony Douglas (unless he improves over the summer) cannot work the P&R.

    I guess you can run the Amare pick and roll with Johnson or Gallo. But I think to maximize Amare you need a point guard who can really pass the ball.

    Plus, Ginobli isnt playing for 3 mil. You gotta be crazy. Plus, Ginobli/Wilson/Walker are all SG/SF coming off the bench. Unless you trade Will/Curry for a guy like Paul… then you’re looking at…

    PG – Paul
    SG – Joe Johnson
    SF – Gallo
    PF – Amare
    C – Camby

    Bench – TD/Walker

  • Ray

    I didnt want to see Joe Johnson in a Knicks uniform anyway. Yes, he can score but he cant play any defense.

  • grahambo86

    And now both are in the HoF.

  • k-hodge

    Point taken on the need for a PG that can run the PNR. I do think Douglas will get better. Folks around here don’t seem to give much credit to self improvement for any of these guys. Obviously there would be one or two more guys on the bench to fill out the roster and one of them would need to be a big. I used Amare in my example, but that could switched for Bosh. Either way, the thinking is that running the SSOL, either of those guys can slide into the 5 spot. I’d even put Marcus on the bench, slide Gallo to the 4, and put Wilson at the 3. I don’t think Wil plus Eddy gets us CP3..I wish life could be so easy. But if we don’t get Lebron, I think the focus definitely moves to 2011/2012 when Paul and Melo become options. Personally, I’m not sold on Joe Johnson either, and definitely not at max, but I’m willing to concede that there are plenty of basketball lifers that know a helluva lot more than me, and they all think he’s worthy of the accolades.

  • Knicks4life

    Love him or hate him, Vescey is usually right . The guy has a real inside track in the NBA.

  • HaS

    I’m tired of this sh**, July can’t get here soon enough.

    ALL these fantasy situations are less than definite and the majority of them are highly unlikely.

    Everything has to play out perfectly in 2010, everything.

    Walsh has instilled zero confidence in me to do it after the way the last two years were mishandled. Holding on to Lee and Nate in an attempt to make the playoffs and a draft that now has to be forgotten. In order for that deadline trade to make sense he needs to make use of that cap space THIS offseason, otherwise it was a very bad trade.

  • vinrummy

    Frankly, I’m glad if Joe Johnson is unlikely to come to New York. I feel that if he doesn’t end up with the max, he’ll end up with a contract that comes pretty close. That isn’t worth it for a guy who should be, at best, the team’s 2nd best player.

    Between his age and style of play it’s enough reason to not build around him. As good as he has seemingly been for Atlanta, he basically was just the best statistical player (and most highly paid player) on a bad team in 2005-06 and 2006-07. It wasn’t until Josh Smith developed, and they got Al Horford and Mike Bibby that the Hawks were even halfway decent. And now that they’ve got J. Crawford they finally have a legit shot at competing with Cle/Orl/Bos.

    In the perfect scenario where LeBron signs with the Knicks, I don’t think that JJ would be the ideal sidekick at all. The last thing LBJ needs is another player who dribbles too much, and has averaged 18.2 FGA a game since he joined the Hawks and is getting to the free-throw line a paltry 3.5 times a game (that’s less than Crawford, who plays 7 less minutes a game). There are seemingly much better chemistry fits for LBJ than Joe Johnson.

    And let’s face it: just being a New York Knick doesn’t necessarily make you a star–even in the best of times. It’s probably because the Knicks have never had a truly dynamic star in the Nike/ESPN era (Bernard King being the closest?). But also the fact that even when the Knicks were good it was always more of the team as a whole getting props instead of any one player. I seriously doubt that Joe Johnson would be the guy who could change that.

  • italian stallion

    If we pay Johnson anywhere near the max we might as well rehire Isiah Thomas. Johnson is the 3rd most productive player on his current team. He is overrated because the media and fans overrate average efficiency scoring relative to other contributions.

  • italian stallion

    Ginobli is one of the best PLAYERS in the NBA, not just one of the best SGs. 3M is laughable.

    Now if we could get him for 10M-12M for a limited number of years (because of his age) it might be worth it, but even that is a major risk because he’s not that young and has a history of injury problems.

    But at least now we are discussing a player that is actually worth a lot of money that we would have a chance to sign. All the other suspects are either not coming or wildly overrated.

  • Ray

    My ideal matchup would be LeBron and Bosh. Inside outside threat with two options to close out games. Solid shooters to dish out to and LeBron freight training it to the hoop.

  • Mucha

    Not anymore IMO.

    Isola and Berman have some legit sources, Vecsey said the Knicks were going to trade Malik Rose for Al Harrington one hour before the Jamal Crawford deal happened.