Knicks Prefer Johnson over Lebron?

by Myles A. Mills on June 29th, 2010 at 3:58 pm

Via Adam Zagoria:

The Knicks are targeting Joe Johnson as their No. 1 free agent choice and believe he’s a better fit for the team than LeBron James, according to an NBA source with knowledge of the team’s plans.

“Yes, we think he’s a better player,” the source said of Johnson. “He makes other people better. With LeBron’s people running the locker room that hurts the organization.”

The source also mentioned concerns about James’ entourage taking over the franchise.

“I don’t care what most people think,” the source said. “I’m not saying that LeBron is not a good player, but other stuff comes with it. LeBron’s friends want jobs. You’re gonna lose running your organization. As time goes on you got to hire this guy, you got to hire that guy.”

Led by president Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks are scheduled to meet with Johnson on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Free agents cannot officially meet with teams until midnight ET on Thursday, or 9 p.m. on the West Coast.

Johnson played for D’Antoni in 2004 and ’05 with the Suns. He was then shipped to Atlanta for Boris Diaw and two first-round picks.

He averaged 21.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds last season in Atlanta.

The Hawks can offer him a six-year deal worth $125 million, and the Knicks can offer five years and $96 million.

After meeting with Johnson, the Knicks will meet with Amar’e Stoudemire in Los Angeles on Wednesday before going to meet with James in the Akron, Ohio, area.

The source said the team’s No. 1 option would be to land Johnson and Stoudemire.

“Yeah, we’ll have room next year to get somebody next year,” the source said, referring to the 2011 free agency class that includes Carmelo Anthony.

Asked who would play point guard with the Knicks next season, the source said Toney Douglas would. He also said the Knicks could pursue Steve Blake.

This comes amid an ESPN.com report that James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh met last weekend in Miami to “seriously discuss their futures.”

The report quoted a source that labeled Miami “as the frontrunner to land James in a package deal with Bosh,” and to re-sign Wade.”

My initial reaction to this:

I don’t completely buy this at all but this is strange to say the least.

About Myles A. Mills

Myles is a sophomore at The Browning School, an all-boys private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He's been a Knick fan as long as he can remember, and 02-03 was the last season he could remember in entirety. He hopes to one day see the Knicks in the playoffs. Myles is also fond of the Mets, and follows them vehemently, but his the bulk of his time goes to the Knicks. Myles wants to be a radio hosts on WFAN or ESPN 1050 radio, and he hopes to write for theknicksblog.com for years to come. View all posts by Myles A. Mills →
  • Sergio

    “Yes, we think he’s a better player,” the source said of Johnson. “He makes other people better. With LeBron’s people running the locker room that hurts the organization.”

    I’m done with this franchise if this is how they truly feel.

  • dino2008

    yeah i heard they prefer boozer over bosh too…. LOL. what a dumb article.

  • Dylan

    Wtf… Chris Duhon doesn’t come with baggage either… Doesn’t mean he is better than Chris Paul! I actually wouldn’t mind a JJ signing at all, but come on! Thats the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. Its like saying the Knicks would have preferred Alan Houston over Michael Jordan…

  • the oak

    And after finding out I didn’t have enough money for the Bentley I was more than happy with the Toyota because that’s what I really wanted anyway.

    Nonsense

  • bob go knicks

    where did you guys get the video of Lebron as a kid?

  • kousinkar

    This is getting really embarrassing (as if it wasn’t already).

  • Dave

    LMFAO. Wow, if this really came from the Knicks then talk about rationalizing, “We didn’t want Lebron anyway” What a joke

  • Bloop33

    Only one thing to say about the dude who produced this trash…

    “A nutless monkey could do your job”

    This is whole free agency period is comical and it didn’t even officially begin yet.

  • Sharp Elbow

    Who ever this NBA source is, he’s an idiot. No Joe Johnson!

  • bob go knicks

    EFF lebron! Danny Ferry was soooo sick of every Lebron cronnie runnin the Cavs locker room etc.that he quit.Shit on that guy,he’ll never be bigger than the NBA,and thats what he wants.KING OF NOTHINGNESS

  • harris

    LOL over that comparision.

  • Dylan

    This just means that either:

    A) the Knicks FO is on crack
    B) ……………………..

  • yuhdunknow2g

    normally sources dont release their identity because of tampering. i think in this case the source didnt release their identity because theyre a jackass and said the dumbest thing ive ever heard. jj better than lebron? wtf!?!?!

    who says any of lebron’s ppl have to be hired? they’re HIS employees. not the team’s

  • Chev

    Please stop the madness!!! I am not saying that I truly believe the “source” or that these statements hold any weight BUT if Lebron is hell bent on coming to play in the NYC market then the Nets is a more attractive and viable option.

    Unfortunately, the NY brass has proven their lunacy. Until they (Walsh & Danny Boy) are gone the charade surrounding the Knicks will continue; much like the parades to the basket that where led by our very own “D. Lee”.

    The fact of the matter is the longer these two clowns remain employed by Dolan the longer the Knicks will continue to be the joke of the NBA. I don’t need any more evidence to witness continued botched drafts, horrible coaching during critical times of the game, lack of communication between player and coach, poor judgment when it comes to evaluating talent, etc. Obviously Dolan has not seen enough!!! These two coons will be the main reason why Lebron will not come to the Knicks above anything else. In order for the Knicks to be successful they must get rid of the toxic waste on the management level. These guys are asinine.

    Riddle me this. After witnessing the draft last week, how far fetched or off are these so called “statements”. I am saddened to say that I truly don’t know.

  • dogmanx23

    The article is dumb, but the idea of Lebron’s entourage running the knicks is scary. They aren’t basketball people, they are business people and that’s all they care about.

    I know everyone wants to bend at the will of Lebron but if his entire Entourage has to get Front Office jobs with the knicks for him to come here that’s something Donnie has to seriously consider as a negative.

  • bob go knicks

    Wilson Chandler is better than Michael Jordan

  • bluemax

    another source “with knowledge”, another rumor.

  • http://www.youtube.com/tharealest62qb DaGawD_KnowLedge

    i heard the knicks will max out lee and joeJ

  • JaymanJD

    YOU know what I know the Source its Dolan himself!! Only a NitWit Ass Clown would suggest that Johnson is even half the player Lebron is. I would rather have Lebron James than Amare and Johnson Combined. Amare is one more knee injury away from ending his career and even so Amare is going to have steap decline once age sets in and those knees start barking. I want no part of Amare and Max money and no one should he is a financial liability!! But you Know the more I keep thinking about the more I believe D’Antoni’s plan all along was to get his globetrotters to the Knicks. Before you know it JOe johnson, Amare will sign and Nash will force a trade to the Knicks. And Suns 2.0 begins again. Knicks fans are we ready for 50 win seasons without any shot of ever winning the big one well step right up.

  • JaymanJD

    @dogmanx23 give them the jobs who Cares. They couldn’t run a draft any worse than Walsh did. The knicks management has been a circus since Dolan got there whats the difference if some of Lebron’s friends get jobs. If lebron comes thats the least the organization can do. All of Ny has already bent over for Lebron whats the difference whether some guys get a job. NY and the Knicks have already lost all pride. We been begging this guy for two years. So now you want to make demands like his friends cant get jobs. The time for showing some self respect has long past with this team lol sorry. I mean The freaking Mayor is begging him to come.

  • JeffM729

    This one might easy to prove. If LeBron leaves the Cavs and JJ leaves the Hawks, you can just see which team is most affected. I’m thinking the Cavs do worse than Atlanta.

  • LebronSignAfterTheX

    LOL I love how everyone is panicking this close to FA as they buy into every ridiculous story coming for an “unnamed source”

    You guys waited for this day for 7 or 8 years, and you can’t just be patient for another couple days without going into histeria over stories that are attention grabbers. These NBA writers hardly get any reads, they are doing whatever they can to draw attention to themselves during a time where the sport is getting the most exposure in years.

  • donnie walsh

    bullshit

  • TG

    Could LBJ get mo money in europe?

  • spydarick9

    This is spin at its finest. Just like politics. Expectation setting.

    This is the clearest sign yet the Knicks think they have no shot at Lebron. Internal sources trying to make it seem like it won’t be a big deal when they don’t get him.

    Three years of waiting and no shot at all. Pathetic.

  • BigDaddybluesman

    This is the first installment of the we did not get anybody of in free agency to make the team competitive BS.

  • JeffM729

    Given what I’ve seen of 7SOL, LeBron would be a fair fit in the system based on his play with the Cavaliers. He is great on the open court, but is more of a wind the shot clock guy in a halfcourt offense. Based on who has been drafted and who has been traded, it’s not much of a stretch for me to believe that the Knicks would prefer Johnson over James. 7SOL is the primary focus and getting guys like JJ and Amare, versed in the system, seems to be where we are headed.

  • clyde fan

    It’s Lebron or nothing.

    These other guys are fine(JJ or Amare) if LBJ is siggned otherwise, no thanks.

    I’m not going to like taking leftovers instead of the main course.

    If JJ and Amare are the best we can get -PASS.

    DW better put on his GM hat and trade his way to a team rather than signing lesser FA’s.

  • clyde fan

    I think they meant it came from a “source” on Knicks Blog LOL!!

  • HankNight

    Tommy, is this part of the grand conspiracy…you know, the one where everything is made to look like Knick management consists of incompetents & the Knicks look like they don’t have a chance in the world of doing something right & then BAM, Lebron is a Knick, Bosh is a Knick & the people (& businesses far & wide in the New York area) are happy?

    Please tell me that is what this is…please!

    And never forget, there is no “D” in incompetent!

  • TobyKnight

    This had to have been planted in the media by the Bulls FO.

  • rocky

    Please explain to me how the Knicks can be planning a meeting with Amare
    when he is still a Phoenix Sun?

    Isn’t that tampering?

  • Starks

    Another BS article to try and make LeBron think the Knicks are not all too hot for him…cmon seriously? They think JJ is a better player then LeBron, really fanhouse?? lol …..im telling you folks now I am more then ever convinced that the Knicks and the LeBron camp have been in talks about coming to NY for months if not years…..this is a sad attempt to get peoples agendas across some more….

    I mean seriously, JJ is a better player then LeBron because of the entarouge? lol

    I cant believe some Knick fans actually are buying this crap…..
    LOL

  • jg2112

    I will add that “LeBron and Bosh to Chi a Done Deal”, then “Bosh to Miami a Done Deal”, and now “LeBron is leaning towards Cleveland”.

    I decided to do myself a favor and just wait until after July 1st to start “reading” and “believing” reports.

    Whatever it’s thrown out there RIGHT NOW is pure garbage. It’s so obvious it’s laughable.

    All this beat writers trying to get more followers on Twitter and get more clicks to their web pages. Stop with this nonesense.

  • http://theshipbesinking.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/cretinous-stupidity-of-the-lowest-possible-order/ Cretinous Stupidity Of The Lowest Possible Order « The Ship Be Sinking

    [...] Cretinous Stupidity Of The Lowest Possible Order It is said that that someone in the Knicks organization with the capacity to shape policy thinks Joe Johnson is better than LeBron James [...]

  • http://www.truesportscore.com/forums/nba/39560-what-move-your-team-making-2.html#post333926 What move is your team making? – Page 2 – True Sports Core Forums

    [...] there it isn't and where other than in your head did anyone ever say JJ is better than LeBron? TheKnicksBlog.com – Knicks Prefer Johnson over Lebron? [...]