twistedemotions

Quote: and offer Al Harrington/John Edwards to them for: 2007 1st rounder (lotto protected) Chris Mihm Brian Cook Aaron McKie $5.5M cash The max cash you can include in a trade is $3 million http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#82

The Hawks really don't have anything the Suns want. Colangelo understands you don't want to give up any pieces of your youth movement. Thats only logical. Not to mention they are all pretty much SFs without range. Part of the reason you want Joe is he DOES have range (deadly range at that). We don't need a SF, we have Shawn Marion. Salim has some shooting talent, but he's a 2 guard in a point guards body. We already have one of those in Leadro Barbossa. You have the time to work on a project like that, the Suns don't. Barbossa is probably going to get traded himself. Lets get real here. Diaw isn't that great. He's serviceable, but isn't a "rugged defender." Thats Suns ownership just trying to save face. I've seen some talent in him, but he certainly isn't a shooter like Joe is yet. Not to mention, like many young players he suffers with confidence issues. Whether he overcomes that with a change in scenery is unknown. The Celtics/Lakers pick is going to be in the 15-20 range. With how terribly weak the 2006 draft is, that pick isn't worth much of anything. If you want to see what you get with such picks look at Suns Zarko Cabarkapa 2003-04 Draft, or Suns Casey Jacobsen 02-03 Draft. The pick that Belkin has a problem with is what the trade is really for. I don't think it will be that good either, the Hawks certainly can't do worse than last year. At best I see it being 12-18. You have to understand that the Suns aren't going to KEEP either of those picks. We want them because although the Hawks may have nothing we want, another team will. Both picks and the trade exception will go in a trade for a veteran. This will probably occur closer to the trade deadline when teams are looking to dump salary. The Suns need to get better now. Not 5 years from now when some draftee is finally ready to contribute. Belkin obviously doesn't want JJ that much or care about JJ at all. JJ WANTS to be a Hawk. He likes the Hawk organization. JJ doesn't want to risk being matched and being stuck with the Suns. Belkin obviously cares less. The Hawks courted JJ and made commitments to him in private to make him a Hawk. Why turn your back on him and make BK look like a fool in his efforts? This smells of Belkin just trying to cover his ass. He can nix this signing and make it look like its all the Suns fault. Top it off he can make a move to assert power in the organization.

Belkin is a moron. I'm sure he believes this to be a two party transaction: Suns VS Hawks. Belkin thinks, "Hey. If they match we get to keep our money, Diaw, and picks. No harm done." Truth is, this is a 3 party transaction: the Suns & Hawks & JJ. This isn't a one-on-one game of chicken. The Suns AND Joe Johnson get screwed in a matching situation. Belkin may have nothing to risk, but JJ does. JJ won't sign on an offer sheet that will doom him to play somewhere he doesn't want to be. He KNOWS the Suns will match. Joe wants a sign and trade. It's a WIN/WIN/WIN situation. He doesn't want to be to be in Phoenix. It's his future, his happiness, and his chance to be "the man" thats on the line here. BK no doubt sold him on Atlanta and how great it will be there. I don't doubt there was a huge emotional sell made by the Hawks. Joe made a public commitment to becoming a Hawk. Joe had to do that. His statements gave Sarver the support he needed to trade Joe Johnson off. I'm sure before that, BK made a private commitment to making Joe a Hawk. Belkin thinks, "Sarver won't do it. I don't care if my reputation is horrible, surely he doesn't care either. Even if he does match I lose nothing." Dumb, dumb, dumb... The Suns owner backed himself into a corner by saying on TV and radio he will match. The Suns would lose face and all power in future negotiations if they didn't match. While Belkin may not give a damn about his organization, the Suns management very much cares about theirs. Frankly Sarver would be lynched by the media and the fans if he went back on his word now. Belkin is apparently completely clueless about how free agency works. He doesn't see how integrity and reputation play into drawing free agents and making deals. BK and most of the Hawk owners made a commitment to JJ. Belkin responds, "Screw JJ!!!! I could care less what commitments you made to him or the Suns." Belkin doesn't give a damn if the Suns match, screwing both JJ and the Suns. Its frigging obvious he could care less about backstabbing a free agent that actually WANTS to come be a part of the organization. Belkin has Joe in a bind. What is Joe supposed to do? He's gone out on a limb publicly to become a Hawk, and Belkin is squabbling over one lousy draft pick. All Joe or the other owners can do now is wait. Belkin has given them no other choice. Belkin is scum.

You'll hear a little rumbling from the Phoenix fans and media as it's a bit of a shock to lose 2 starters on a team that went to the WCF. Put yourself in their shoes... Anyways don't worry about. Main thing they fret about is the situation could have been handled a bit better with JJ making his wishes known earlier. Refusing to take calls for weeks probably wasn't the best thing. When the season starts everyone will forget about it anyway. For awhile everyone thought this was about money, but it really had nothing to do with it. The Suns were willing to pay the max if it came too it. It's not he hates the Suns or his old teammates. It's just that Joe genuinely and truly wants to be a Hawk. It's better for the Suns and JJ if the they sign/trade him rather than keep in Phoenix unhappy. Hawks fans should be thrilled with him wanting to be there as its much easier to build off guys that actually want to help your organization grow and be a part of your community. Now to the skinny on JJ: JJ has great work ethic and really has overcome the confidence problems he had when he first was drafted by Boston. This was his big weakness when he first came to the Suns. Now that he has beat that demon, you should see him continue to improve. He also is more of a reserved mellow type of guy. Real good ties with his family in Little Rock. He is a great guy to have in any locker-room and stays out of trouble unlike some of the more ghetto thug types. Even when he played with Penny, and Penny was bitching about Joe stealing his playing time... Joe was very diplomatic. He's not the explosive type. He's much more controlled and silky smooth with his movements. He's big for a guard and can use his turnaround fade away on smaller guards. Other than when he broke his face, Joe is very much under control. He has very good shot selection. He knows how to take care of the ball. Shooting wise Joe has good form. His release is a little slow at 3-point range, but he is very accurate. His favorite spots are at the corners where his almost automatic. He is taller than many guards, so opponents have difficulty blocking him. His strong point really is his midrange game. While other guards can just be covered on the 3-point line (leaving backup under the hoop should the guard drive), Joe is damn good at dribbling in for the mid-range jumper. One of my favorite moves of his, is his little "shake and bake". He'll do that and either drive to the hoop, or pull back for the jump shot. Another move you will see is his little floater. He'll drive to the hoop, and instead of going of a layup, will glide in a gentle floater arcing over the defenders outstretched arm. He does this constantly with great success. He can handle PG duties, but you may want to have him share that with another player. He has no trouble getting the ball over half court, or setting up the offense. Joe won't turn the ball over, but sometimes he hesitates when seeing an open player or a guy in the post... blowing his window of opportunity. He's not really a Steve Nash kind of hectic running game PG. He's more suiting to the half-court game in this aspect. He's the careful type, so I'd expect less assists but few turnovers from him. His natural position is SG, but he handles SF fine. He can do PG or PF too, but with reduced minutes. He rebounds decently and has good hands. He also has INSANE stamina and is a real iron man. Before breaking his face last season he played night in and night out 40+ minutes a game without complaint, and never looked tired. He is a very good defender, and his extra size on other guards helps out on this. He can slide over and guard PGs too. He can have trouble with explosive slashers though (Manu, etc), so your going to want to get some defense under the hoop to help him out. Oh and as for the hold up. I'm sure it will be worked out eventually. I think the 2 picks and Diaw was fair myself. If you think otherwise just go to the Suns forum and see how many other fans are steaming. The Boston/LA pick will probably be in the late teens. Your #1 will probably be in the same range. Think about it, your team has no where to go but up. All your players are young and all they need is some time together. This season will be better than last for you (but still not good), and then you'll probably start competing for 8th seed the year after that. From there its just a matter of making sure your young talent doesn't sign away to other teams. Frankly all the facts behind the situation look a little suspicious. This smells of a political power play. Why make a stink and sue everyone now? I know the guy may claim otherwise, but this is a grown buisness man. He isn't a fool. It will probably take weeks, but this will get done eventually. Hawks really need to get their sh1t together on this though. It's making your management and owners look like the laughingstock of the league. Signing Joe should help you bring in free agents, but it won't if you look like one of your owners is a nutcase. In the longterm you need to dump that wretch from Boston. He's humiliating his own GM, fans, and organization. Have fun watching Joe. Gotta run!