The Atlanta Hawks Joe Johnson $119 Million Dollar Man? Overpaying Now Has a New Meaning.

Posted by By Sports Session at 2 July, at 10 : 00 AM Print

Even though the NBA season is over the league has still very much been in the news because of the Free Agency Period.  The only difference this season is that several of the best players in the NBA are available as free agents, and several others opted out of the last year of their contracts.  Many teams who have these players opting out and being free agents have to scramble and do whatever they can to keep their star players.  The recently reported contract offer by the Atlanta Hawks to Joe Johnson is a perfect example of this point.

It’s being reported that the Atlanta Hawks have offered the All-Star guard a maximum contract for six years at $119 million.  I was a bit shocked at the size and terms of the offer because although Johnson is an All-Star he came up small in the playoffs against the Orlando Magic.  He has not proven he can lead a team to the Promised Land in the playoffs, but can make a team very good during the regular season.  Johnson is not a top flight player on the level with Dwayne Wade and Lebron James; he is more of a player that fits a piece of the puzzle with an existing player.

They offer $119 million, the max contract that can be offered to a player in the NBA?  What were the Hawks thinking?  Don’t get me wrong, Johnson is a very good wing player.  However, he’s nowhere near being a superstar.  This is a guy who is nearly 30 years old, averaged about 21 points a game this past season, playing 38 minutes a game. You think Kobe Bryant is a ball hog? You think LeBron James likes to control the rock most of the time?  Joe Johnson has the ball in his hands nearly 60-65 percent of every Hawk possession.

Some writers are claiming this is the worst free agent contract they’ve ever seen. I am going to take a different approach on this, as I have seen some bad contracts in the past; does Eddie Curry not come to mind?  This move by the Hawks is less about how good Johnson is and more about the Hawks feeling they would not be able to attract any High profile free agents to their team.  For them it was simple math, if they lose Joe Johnson they won’t get Pierce, James, Wade, or Nowitzki which would leave them fighting for Bosh, Boozer, and Stoudamire.  None of the latter three are the missing piece to the Hawks winning a championship, so they felt giving Johnson the maximum was their best move.

If you think about it other than Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson is the best player available as a free agent at his position with Rudy Gay going back to his team.  If Johnson does sign (which I am sure he will) they can then go after a Boozer, Stoudamire, or Bosh to help improve this team.  They definitely are overpaying for Johnson there is no doubt about that, but they are out of viable options for the most part, so they are stuck with him.

Simply put, this deal handcuffs the Hawks, and assures their fans that they won’t be seeing a title in the near future, unless the team can find another player to put on that team.  They have some young talent in Atlanta, but they need to jettison Marcus Williams who is the poster child for underachievement, and bring in another proven commodity to go along with Johnson.  To put it in perspective, Joe Johnson will make the same as Wade, Lebron , and Carmelo Anthony next season if he signs the contract.  There is something wrong with that, but it’s the NBA so you shouldn’t be surprised.

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