Ball or Nuthin' » Joe Johnson

NBA Free Agency: Teams Will Be Left Disappointed

T Lamont — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:12:06 +0000

The landscape of NBA free agency is indeed a tricky situation to navigate.

A team has to convince several different players simultaneously that their services are desired above and beyond anyone else that they are recruiting.

Let’s take this off-season, for example. Chicago, Los Angeles (Clippers), New York, New Jersey, Miami and, of course, Cleveland all want a piece of LeBron James. Dwayne Wade serves as what will go down in the history of free agency as one of the most talented consolation prizes ever. And if you’re one of the teams mired in this open season madness, you had better make it your business to grab one of these available bigs on the market – whether it be Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer.

We can acknowledge that the aforementioned players represent the cream of the crop, but what is happening with the remainder of the second-tier players?

Well, Memphis swingman Rudy Gay has agreed on a 5-year, $82 million deal which will keep him with the Grizzlies. The soon-to-be-24 swingman is not a franchise player type, but his scoring, athleticism, tough defense and creativity could add a dimension to a team looking for help. Plugging him into the 2/3 spot in Chicago or alongside Dwayne Wade in Miami would have helped those teams tremendously.

Organizations should be concerned about Boozer's injury history.

While Paul Pierce and Ray Allen both filed for free agency, Pierce has already reached a four-year deal to remain with the Celtics. And it’s highly unlikely that Allen will venture away from Beantown. Doc Rivers has announced that he’d “like to get one more crack at it with this group,” and you can believe that he will get that chance.

Joe Johnson is a big name on the market, but is not a true franchise cornerstone. Teams, particularly the Knicks, have courted Johnson in hopes that he can serve as bait for James or Wade. But that plan may be foiled, as the Hawks have offered JJ what many claim to be one of the worst contracts ever – especially for someone who just proved that he is not capable of performing in the absurdly physical second round of the playoffs.

Can we really picture Dirk Nowitzki in a uniform other than that of the Dallas Mavericks? Right now he’s posturing to make his team better, trying to see what Dallas is going to do with its roster. But in the end, he’s not jumping ship.

The big summer of free agency is rapidly coming down to the pursuit of a few key stars – Wade (who has been rumored to be heavily leaning towards remaining in South Beach), James and Bosh (who are both entertaining offers from any and everyone). Accompanying power forwards Boozer and Stoudemire are merely well-known sidekicks.

Six teams are tussling for the two-time NBA MVP. Wade is being wooed by five organizations. Four franchises are engrossed in the hunt for Bosh.

Somebody is going to get left out in the cold. And for them, the summer with so much promise will have ended in nothing but despair.

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Bosh Becoming Key Component in Free Agent Class

T Lamont — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:31:13 +0000

With LeBron James and Dwayne Wade easily being the ’Big Two’ during the free agent bonanza that this summer has become, individually, they may not be the most critical.

The free agent list has a few good to great wing players. Accompanying James and Wade in this category would be Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson and the newly-filed, Boston Celtic forward Paul Pierce. Odds are that Pierce will stay put, but Johnson is certainly looking at options outside of Atlanta.

While James and Wade can be viewed as A+ options for directing a franchise toward instant contender status, Johnson would probably register as a B. But in the frontcourt, there’s seemingly one player who mentioned as the sidekick to the stars – and that’s Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh.

Bosh has indicated that he desires to be the premier, franchise player on whatever team he chooses. For him, that is absolutely the correct thing to say. He shouldn’t jeopardize his worth to competing organizations by admitting what we all know as the truth – that he would not be able to carry a team into the postseason on his own merits. The 6’10″ power forward needs a multi-skilled wing player to get to the next level – and we’ve already seen that the player needs to be considerably better than Hedo Turkoglu.

So why is Bosh any more valuable than, say, Carols Boozer? Or even Amar’e Stoudemire?

In a word, versatility.

If Bosh lands in Miami, he could be reunited with Jermaine O'Neal.

When compared to Boozer, Bosh has true PF length. Bosh’s range on jumpers extends a little bit deeper as well. And Boozer is vertically challenged and not a threat to block shots. Don’t get me wrong: Boozer is a hard-nosed, grind-it-out player. Every team needs those type of players. But they don’t need to pay them big time money, either.

Stoudemire is very explosive, but his overall game lacks the refinement of Bosh’s. The two have comparable size, but Bosh is more willing to get tough rebounds. Bosh also does a better job of playing containment defense, an area where Amar’e seems to lack focus at times.

Also, when considering this as a long term investment strategy, the age of the three contestants must be taken into account. Carlos Boozer is 28 years old. Amar’e Stoudemire is 27. Bosh is only 26.

Professional sports is all about mismatches and players’ abilities to capitalize on them. If a team is going to invest in a player the caliber of James, Wade or Johnson, it only makes sense to solidify that investment by ensuring that his supporting cast can also generate some advantages. Bosh’s versatility makes him the best candidate to fulfill that requirement.

There are already numerous reports of the frontrunners in the free agent chase – New York, Chicago and Miami – all attempting to secure Bosh’s services in hopes that it will set them up for at least one of the ‘Big Two.’

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Wade Becomes the 2010 Official Spokesperson of NBA Free Agency

T Lamont — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:19:37 +0000

With some of the biggest names in the sport available to pick and choose their next destinations, the summer of 2010 figures to be one that will dictate which franchises will be NBA powerhouses over the coming decade.

Given the significance of the decisions to be made, the top free agents – including LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh – are planning to meet and discuss their plans surrounding free agency. The free-agent season actually commences beginning July 1, and six-time All-Star Dwayne Wade announced that the meeting will take place prior to that date:

“I don’t know the date. LeBron went through a very tough loss, so you’ve got to give guys time to get over things and get their schedules clear. But before July 1 we’ll know what we’re going to do and hopefully it’s somewhere quiet.”

“I’m sure a lot of us, when you sit down and everybody puts a list together of opportunities they have, I’m sure a lot of us have a couple of the same opportunities, the same teams they’re looking at. So I’m sure there’s going to be discussion.”

A story coming from the Chicago Tribune added a little more spice to this gumbo, with this piece where Wade apparently questioned the loyalty of the Bulls organization:

“I think the biggest question that you think about has to be loyalty. I know one thing about Miami: It is a very loyal organization. I see what they do with their players when their players get done with the game of basketball … how loyal they are. I don’t know about the Bulls.”

“I see Michael Jordan is not there, Scottie Pippen is not there. … You know, these guys are not a part. Things like that. So that is probably one of the biggest things for me, because I am a very loyal person.”

But then after realizing that he wasn’t an authority on the subject (regarding what Jordan and Pippen aspired to do after their careers), he quickly backtracked on his initial ramblings:

“I’m not taking shots at the Bulls, and the organization. I respect the organization, I respect every organization in the NBA. It’s just that my opinion when the question was asked about what’s most important to you, I said one of the most important things is loyalty. It’s not that I’m taking shots at the Bulls, or I’m taking shots at any organization.”

Outside of the All-Star Game, would these two mega-stars consider playing on the same team?

Either way, it doesn’t sound like the Chicago native will be headed back home to play for the team that he’s not taking shots at.

There are a host of other potential stars who may also throw their names into the pot, specifically Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudamire and Dirk Nowitzki just to highlight a few.

Some may argue that this is not beneficial to the overall development of the league…but really, who cares?

This off-season is about the choices that these young men are going to have to live with for years to come. A little politicking with their constituents is essential and should be expected to ensure that these elite players are happy with their final selections. From a franchise-based perspective, there’s nothing worse than having a super-talented, but non-motivated player on your roster. This whole process should prevent that from occurring.

On the flip side, players need to understand all aspects of their organization – along with the impacts that other players may have on their individual situation or potential for greater success.

And whether he realizes it or not, Wade has just become the 2010 official spokesperson of NBA free agency.

Magic Complete Most Dominant Series in NBA History

T Lamont — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:20:11 +0000

At this specific moment, there’s no doubt that the Orlando Magic are the best team in the NBA.

The Magic completed their sweep of the Atlanta Hawks tonight with a 98-84 win in Game 4 at Phillips Arena. It wasn’t so much the sweep, but the manner of their dominance over the team with the fourth-best record in the East – a team that swept the Boston Celtics during the regular season – was the most impressive part of their accomplishment. The Orlando Magic rewrote the history books by orchestrating the most lopsided playoff series in NBA history – outscoring Atlanta by 101 points (in their four game sweep).

While the Magic have certainly sparkled in the postseason, their success has not come suddenly. Orlando has reeled off 14 straight victories (dating back to April 2nd), and they are performing as every team hopes they would – peaking during their playoff run.

Tonight was just like the others against the Hawks. Orlando dominated in all aspects of the game, and made Atlanta look like they were a high-school AAU team. With such a powerful presence in the post in Dwight Howard, the Magic space the floor with outstanding shooters and dare their opponents to double team the big fellow.

And, boy, were those shooters outstanding. The reigning Eastern Conference Champions connected on 16 threes – with Vince Carter (22 points), Rashard Lewis (17 points) and Mickael Pietrus each nailing four.

With a healthy Jameer Nelson, the Magic have looked a little sharper than they did last year.

Meanwhile, the Hawks have the look of a team that may be in for some shake-ups prior to next season. All-Star Joe Johnson recently made comments regarding what he perceived as a lack of fan support. And after he threw up another stinker of a game tonight, the fans let him hear it with a conservative shower of boos as he was taken out of the contest late in the fourth quarter. With him being a free agent this summer, that may stick in his memory – meaning those boos may have been the last that he will hear from Phillips Arena for some time.

Of course, if Johnson exits, then who’s going to be the go-to-guy on this team? Newcomer Jamal Crawford would probably be the best (and only) candidate, although he was cast brilliantly this season in his sixth man role. Veteran point guard Mike Bibby is slowing down and may be best in a reduced role. Josh Smith is a do-it-all type, but not the type that will create shots for others with superior playmaking ability. Al Horford is a brute, plain and simple. And Marvin Williams can’t decide when he wants to play basketball and when he wants to spectate.

But the Magic took advantage of the disjointed Hawks, and appeared to be the most cohesive unit in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. And their legs will be even fresher than their opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now that’s just scary.

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Hawks Crushed at Home

T Lamont — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:48:50 +0000

There are two characteristics of championship teams that have been consistent throughout the years – a commitment to defense and the ability to maintain focus on the road.

The Orlando Magic displayed both in their 105-75 win against the Atlanta Hawks in Phillips Arena, giving them a 3-0 series lead.

Orlando dominated from start to finish by shooting better and controlling the boards. Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard paved the way with 21 points and 16 rebounds. The Magic also got an efficient game from forward Rashard Lewis, who had 22 points on 8-13 FG – including four triples. In total, the reigning Eastern Conference Champs shot 51% from the field and canned ten three-pointers.

Will Joe Johnson's postseason struggles cost him any money in free agency?

The Hawks were outscored in each quarter by the Magic. Atlanta, who tied for the second-best home court record in the league, was not ready for a team with the Magic’s depth, skill and execution. After a few consecutive playoff appearances, the Hawks have to be wondering what it will take to get to the next level (i.e., the Eastern Conference Finals). Their best player, Joe Johnson, has looked nothing like the All-Star status that he has achieved over the years. Johnson was only 3-15 tonight, bringing his series shooting down to 12-42 (29%). With his free agency looming, there will be a lot of question marks surrounding his value to other teams. Efforts like tonight will have many Hawks fans on edge this summer.

Orlando looks like a team that is a cut above everyone else at the moment. Although some may regard the Bobcats and the Hawks as two of the easier opponents that a top-tier team can have in the first and second rounds, Orlando has been focused and have not let one game slip away from them. They are performing as a title contending team by putting away teams that it should. The Magic look to be peaking as a team at the right time of year.

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