Lebron to Knicks if Knicks get Joe?

[Sothron]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/65441/20100319/source_lebron_interested_in_playing_with_johnson/

Ric Bucher of ESPN quotes a league source in saying that Lebron wants to play with Joe Johnson and he'd be more interested in the Knicks if they get Joe Johnson.

Would Joe leave Atlanta if he knew he would get to play next to Lebron? :newspaper:

Personally I think he would and I do think he's going to leave as a free agent. I don't see that as a positive for us but I don't see him staying.

[Guest]

Why would anyone trust those schmucks over at ESPN? They don't have any good inside sources.

Oh how I wish Peter Gammons or Buster Olney would have covered the NBA instead.

[NJHAWK]

Lebron lame rumor # 1001 Joe lame Rumor # 101 Tomorrow they will say that Lebron is trying to get Tiger Woods to try out for the Knicks and will play there if Tiger makes the team or maybe he will play with the Bobcats if MJ becomes an owner/coach/player.

[mrhonline]

JJ+LeBron is an awesome combination.

[Sothron]

JJ+LeBron is an awesome combination.

It would be pretty scary for anyone trying to defend them. Both guys create for themselves and for others, both can be unselfish and still score effectively. Joe's natural demeanor would have no problem being in a "Pippen" role either.

[AHF]

It would be pretty scary for anyone trying to defend them. Both guys create for themselves and for others, both can be unselfish and still score effectively. Joe's natural demeanor would have no problem being in a "Pippen" role either.

With JJ's deadly perimeter shot, overall skills and secondary demeanor, it seems like a fantastic pairing.

[ATLSmith]

Glass half full interpretation (if a little unrealistic):

Atlanta re-signs Joe and signs LeBron. They play together in ATLANTA!

:beer:

[niremetal]

Glass half full interpretation (if a little unrealistic):

Atlanta re-signs Joe and signs LeBron. They play together in ATLANTA!

:beer:

By "sign," I'm guessing you're thinking about a sign-and-trade. And I actually said awhile back that the Hawks working out a S&T for an elite free agent is not out of the realm of possibility. Since the big guns available this offseason are all unrestricted, we would have to convince them to come to Atlanta AND convince their current teams to deal with us. But while that certainly won't be easy, that might not be as impossible as it sounds. Crawford is expiring next summer, Smoove's stock is high, and maybe we could find a team willing to take on Marvin (I really think he'd fit well in Cleveland, Phoenix, and Utah, all of whom have big-time UFAs), whose contract is not so big as to be crippling. True, in all likelihood, we would have to give up at least one guy that it would hurt to see go, but landing Bosh or LeBron would be worth it. That being said, convincing both the player and his current team would be a really steep hill to climb, and the likelihood of this happening thus is very slim. But it's not impossible.

Edited March 19, 2010 by niremetal

[Joker]

Perfect for Bron and JJ, Batman and Robin. This is terrible for the rest of the league if true.

Edited March 19, 2010 by nbasuperstar40

[Joker]

By "sign," I'm guessing you're thinking about a sign-and-trade. And I actually said awhile back that the Hawks working out a S&T for an elite free agent is not out of the realm of possibility. Since the big guns available this offseason are all unrestricted, we would have to convince them to come to Atlanta AND convince their current teams to deal with us. But while that certainly won't be easy, that might not be as impossible as it sounds. Crawford is expiring next summer, Smoove's stock is high, and maybe we could find a team willing to take on Marvin (I really think he'd fit well in Cleveland, Phoenix, and Utah, all of whom have big-time UFAs), whose contract is not so big as to be crippling. True, in all likelihood, we would have to give up at least one guy that it would hurt to see go, but landing Bosh or LeBron would be worth it. That being said, convincing both the player and his current team would be a really steep hill to climb, and the likelihood of this happening thus is very slim. But it's not impossible.

Except Cleveland will not trade Lebron under any circumstance. I like the idea but I HIGHLY doubt it would happen.

[niremetal]

Except Cleveland will not trade Lebron under any circumstance. I like the idea but I HIGHLY doubt it would happen.

They might agree if the alternative is to lose LeBron to another team and get nothing back. But that assumes that the Cavs wouldn't prefer "nothing" to whatever we offer them. And they might prefer to get nothing and start from scratch.

Edited March 19, 2010 by niremetal

[Joker]

They might agree if the alternative is to lose LeBron to another team and get nothing back. But that assumes that the Cavs wouldn't prefer "nothing" to whatever we offer them. And they might prefer to get nothing and start from scratch.

Lebron James is Cleveland. They would never be able to sell tickets if they lose him, especially in a trade. Phoenix fans are still peeved about the Joe trade. It's better to lose him for nothing and at least said we did everything to keep him than trade him and have him win titles for another team. There are times when integrity is more important than logic.

Edited March 19, 2010 by nbasuperstar40

[thecampster]

They might agree if the alternative is to lose LeBron to another team and get nothing back. But that assumes that the Cavs wouldn't prefer "nothing" to whatever we offer them. And they might prefer to get nothing and start from scratch.

Dude, didn't you and I just argue this in another thread and you took the opposing argument?

[niremetal]

Dude, didn't you and I just argue this in another thread and you took the opposing argument?

No. What we argued about then is whether the FUTURE team would agree to a sign-and-trade if the FUTURE team had enough cap space to sign the targeted player outright. The Hawks do not have enough cap space to sign LeBron outright. Not even close. The only way the Hawks could get him is in a sign-and-trade. The issue with LeBron is whether his CURRENT team would agree to the trade (or if they would instead prefer to let him walk for nothing and start from scratch).

It's hilarious that you think this is the same situation. It's actually the exact opposite. Just drives home how little common sense you have when it comes to NBA free agency.

Edited March 19, 2010 by niremetal

[thecampster]

No. What we argued about then is whether the FUTURE team would agree to a sign-and-trade if the FUTURE team had enough cap space to sign the targeted player outright. The Hawks do not have enough cap space to sign LeBron outright. Not even close. The only way the Hawks could get him is in a sign-and-trade. The issue with LeBron is whether his CURRENT team would agree to the trade (or if they would instead prefer to let him walk for nothing and start from scratch).

It's hilarious that you think this is the same situation. It's actually the exact opposite. Just drives home how little common sense you have when it comes to NBA free agency.

I disagree and the situation is the same. Once JJ is signed, any of the 3 times discussed would not have the room to sign Lebron. It is the same thing you are just seeing it through your "I wanna be right" filter.

[niremetal]

I disagree and the situation is the same. Once JJ is signed, any of the 3 times discussed would not have the room to sign Lebron. It is the same thing you are just seeing it through your "I wanna be right" filter.

Oh. My. God. The other argument was about teams WITH cap space (e.g. Chicago, NY) trying to sign another team's free agent. My post was about how a team WITHOUT cap space (e.g. the Hawks) would have to go about doing it. How can you be so clueless about NBA transaction rules that you think that whether or not a team has cap space is irrelevant? That completely changes the dynamic of the situation. If the Hawks had cap space, they wouldn't need to do a S&T to get LeBron and they wouldn't want to. They could just sign him. But since they are WITHOUT cap space, the only way they could possibly get him is to convince both LeBron and Cleveland to do a S&T - an incredibly unlikely thing to happen. That's why LeBron is more likely to go to a team WITH cap space if he bolts Cleveland.

How can you be so dense as to not recognize how completely different the situations are?

Edited March 19, 2010 by niremetal

[MaceCase]

Again, all the Knicks need to afford two free agents at a starting salary of 16.5 million is to either have the cap be set at 54 million (unlikely but who knows) or get rid of one of their minor contracts (Chandler, Douglas). I and many others have argued that Joe would not seek the maximum salary allotted (~17mil per as apposed to 20) but rather wanted that 5th or 6th year guaranteed.

Couple that with playing with the coach that jump started his career, this millennium's greatest player and a fanbase that has given such second tier stars as Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, and Patrick Ewing first tier name recognition rather than continue to play with a fan base that belittles Joe's 2nd tier accomplishments as nothing more than 4th tier-Dleague (depending on which poster you ask) accomplishments....Well yet another reason to panac!

[volman]

But....but it all works on NBA 2k10!!!!

[EazyRoc]

If we could work out a Sign and Trade for Chris Bosh, that would be awesome. I know we'd have to give up a lot. At least Smith, Marvin, Bibby, and a pair of 1st round draft picks. Sometimes it's fun to dream..

[APE]

If we could work out a Sign and Trade for Chris Bosh, that would be awesome. I know we'd have to give up a lot. At least Smith, Marvin, Bibby, and a pair of 1st round draft picks. Sometimes it's fun to dream..

Bosh is a 7 foot soft batch