Deal for JJ no sure bet

Jul. 26, 2005 12:00 AM

The Suns brimmed in June with as much confidence about re-signing Joe Johnson as they would about defending the Pacific Division title.

This week, a pool of rising, nervous energy is swallowing up America West Arena. Several Suns organization staffers and others close to Johnson say they believe Managing Partner Robert Sarver will not match Atlanta's five-year, $70 million offer sheet, which Johnson cannot sign until next week after the free-agency signing moratorium was extended again Monday.

Once he signs an offer sheet, Phoenix would have a week to decide between matching the deal and saying goodbye to Johnson, a restricted free agent. Others still believe Sarver will match, but it is clear to all that he is unsure. advertisement




The Suns made re-signing Johnson a top priority this summer. They said they intended to maintain the team's core and would do everything "within reason" to do so. But this month's events surprised them.

The worst things that happened to hopes of retaining Johnson less expensively (the Suns offered $60 million for six years this month) were Seattle's and Milwaukee's re-signings of free agents Ray Allen and Michael Redd, respectively. Cleveland and Atlanta, teams with cap space, then switched their attention to Larry Hughes and Johnson.

Cleveland struck first with Hughes, a lower risk because he was an unrestricted free agent. His five-year, $70 million signing set the maximum-level bar for Johnson, whom Atlanta wants as a point guard.

The new collective bargaining agreement may have helped entice the Hawks into the fray, too. It cut the time allotted for a team to respond to an offer sheet from 15 days to seven. That would have left Atlanta's financial commitment tied up for less time if not for delays in finalizing the CBA.

Atlanta would not have become involved if it did not feel it had a logical shot, much like Phoenix's chase of Quentin Richardson last summer. Just as the Suns front-loaded Richardson's deal, Atlanta reportedly agreed to pay Johnson at least $20 million in the first year.

After Richardson (traded last month for Kurt Thomas) signed for $43.5 million last summer, Sarver declined to give Johnson the six-year, $50 million contract he desired, despite the staff's wishes. The combination of the two decisions still upsets Johnson, a teammate said.

Sarver proved prophetic in his first words to Johnson after they wound up $5 million apart last fall. He said: "Go out and have a good year and you're going to make a ton of money."

Sarver and Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo declined comment Monday. Johnson's agents could not be reached.

One talked-about scenario has the Suns telling Johnson to take their offer, banking on loyalty, or he will wind up with Atlanta because the Hawks' offer is too much for Phoenix's budget. With Johnson signed to a maximum deal, Phoenix would be close to the luxury tax threshold with just six players in 2006-07, when Amaré Stoudemire's extension would begin.

After a hometown summer league game in Little Rock last week, Johnson told KATV-TV that he would sign Atlanta's offer sheet. Asked whether the Suns were doing anything extra to keep him, Johnson told KATV: "Not really. Atlanta, they came really strong. So you know, we're going to just sit back, wait and we're gonna see what's going to happen.

"Basically, it's pretty much done. To be honest, I'm pretty much . . . I'm gonna sign with Atlanta probably sometime (next week) and we're gonna wait and see if Phoenix is going to match."

If Phoenix is certain it will not match, it could seek a sign-and-trade deal to get some compensation. But any deal for a player would require Phoenix to take on almost as much salary, although it could be for a shorter time.

Those close to Johnson felt he wanted to stay with Phoenix, which still has his image on the Web page for season ticket sales. He said he would love to re-sign when he last left AWA but added that it was a business and it would be an "interesting" summer.

Phoenix's other priority was Stoudemire's extension. Johnson's possible departure won't sit well with the franchise big man, but nobody else can give him the money the Suns can (almost $90 million for six years). It may not even please Steve Nash, who already saw a team that he felt was close to a title get broken up in Dallas.

Johnson is slated to play Friday in Nash's charity game in Toronto. Will it be his last game with Nash, Stoudemire and Shawn Marion?

Posted by Knicksfan:

Johnson at point guard? Isn't he a SG/SF?

Posted by fishmike:

that will be a big loss for them. My guess is they keep him and look to rebuild that team around JJ and Amare.

They are still in great shape. They just cant afford to pay Nash, JJ, Amare and Marion max bucks. However they can get great returns for Nash and Marion down the road to ease the financial burdon. What they need to do is sell high and really stock up on lottery picks in the next couple years if they move those guys.

If they did something like
Marion for TT + Ariza + 2006 Spurs pick
Nash and Jim Jackson for KVH + Josh Howard + Devin Harris

They could retool with cheap young up and coming players and have extra picks as well.

My only point is when you have great talent you still hold the cards. When you dont have talent (like us) you claw and scrape and overpay to get guys like Jerome JAmes, Jamal Crawford and Q. Hey... I like those players but they arent Joe Johnson, Nash or Marion.

exactly and nothing gets done about the cap situation and the mediocrity that keeps us from winning the lottery. Thank god for Larry Brown thats all I'm gonna say at least we now have some hope