AJC: Atlanta Hawks: J.J. to Mavs, Knicks, Bulls, Rockets . . . or Hawks?

[Hawksquawk]

Is there cash in that boot?

Another day, another Joe Johnson rumor.

This time it’s Adreian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reporting that the Mavericks are interested in acquiring J.J. They are over the salary cap, so the only way to do that would be through a sign-and-trade agreement. That means J.J. would have to want to play for the Mavs and Dallas and Atlanta would have to come to an agreement on a trade.

The key line in Wojnarowski’s story is this: “Johnson is determined to get the sixth guaranteed season on a contract that could only come with re-signing in Atlanta or a sign-and-trade arrangement, sources say.” This is along the lines of what I’ve been saying all along, that guys just don’t leave $25-$30 million on the table. The signals being sent out by J.J,’s camp are clear: If Atlanta offers the most cash, Johnson will re-sign. If not, he will look elsewhere. What’s not clear is if the Hawks are willing to pay J.J. the max if that’s what it takes to keep him.

The thing …

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[macdaddy]

The AJC’s Mark Bradley asks if Atlanta wants J.J. back and that’s a good question. He mentions how the city of Cleveland has pretty much begged LeBron to come back. Bradley is talking about the fans, but it also seems the Hawks organization has been relatively subdued in its public recruitment of J.J. as compared to the teams of other top free agents.

From the same article. Its a good point and i'll put my disclaimer up front. I want Joe back. He's a great player and I'd rather not really care how much he gets as long as he comes back. That said i think the lack of public pleading to come back is part ASG style and part the fact that Joe rarely said much to or about the fans at all...until he laid an egg and told us he could care less if we showed up. So i think a lot of fans could care less if he signed back up.

Second disclaimer, i think what Joe meant was misinterpreted. I think his point was that what the fans do or don't do shouldn't affect how you play. Still it was a stupid comment to make.