Joe Johnson a Top Priority?

[King]

Re: The real Joe Johnson.....

I think after getting pounded by the Spurs, the Suns are gonna try to go with a more traditional lineup. That means letting JJ walk. They could move Amare back to the 4, Marion to the 3, and pick up an athletic C like Gadzuric or Swift, while adding some more depth to their bench. They'd still be a run n gun team, but more well equipped to face teams like the Pistons and Spurs. At least thats what I hope they do.

 

[TyGuy]

Re: The real Joe Johnson.....

they can use their mle to get jerome james and probably someone else. Then they can split time with james and steven hunter. They also have a draft pick at 21.

 

[imahustla]

Re: The real Joe Johnson.....

Here is a great Joe Johnson/Cavs article that I found...

http://cavaliers.mostvaluablenetwork.com/index.php?p=71

 

[HogFan]

Re: The real Joe Johnson.....

I think after getting pounded by the Spurs, the Suns are gonna try to go with a more traditional lineup. That means letting JJ walk. They could move Amare back to the 4, Marion to the 3, and pick up an athletic C like Gadzuric or Swift, while adding some more depth to their bench. They'd still be a run n gun team, but more well equipped to face teams like the Pistons and Spurs. At least thats what I hope they do.

It hurts PHX that their franchise player and Marion don't seem to like playing out of position anymore. Well, Stoudemire never did, and Marion has vented about having to guard Duncan and other PF's. Thats really too bad because they are a blast to watch. But this WCF is more ammo for those two to switch back to their natural positions. Just looking from an owner's perspective, I would say you are right on the money with your assessment of what PHX must do. They desperately need a center if they want to get past SA. Keeping JJ handcuffs them to their current line-up. And Amare said throughout the year that he doesn't plan on staying at the 5. He has a good argument that it is wearing on his body, and he says that him continuing at the 5 will be part of their offseason negotiations. Considering he has no agent, I'm guessing his side of the bargaining table will go with the counter of, "man, I ain't no @#%&!@ center" He's been saying that all year, and now Marion has been saying the same thing about playing PF. If they freeze out JJ by publicly announcing that they will match all offers they may end up starting next year with 3 of their starters disgruntled. Or they could let JJ go and get an athletic center so they can keep playing speed ball.

 

[aaronr]

Re: The real Joe Johnson.....

Let me share in the accolades to HogFan for a great post on Johnson. I've always favored going after him, big if necessary to overcome his RFA status. Of the major shooting guards who are free agents, he's always been my favorite because he does two things better than the rest--defend his position and shoot the three-pointer.

 

[Dungong]

The Suns going to a traditional line-up would be good news, but if they do, that magnificent offense will take a hit. The type of center they need is one of those athletic "energy" guys that can run the floor, to match the rest of the team that runs the floor, and there was no better player in this role than Amare. The Suns have played all year with the mismatches, and mostly they exploited them on the offensive end enough to cancel out the defensive end. If you take JJ out of the line-up and put in a guy who qualifies as a center, they immediately lose a huge chunk of that O. With Q Rich and JJ, they had two huge outside threats to spread the floor.

Basically, I think the Suns match anything for JJ, keeping their lineup (even with 4 guys getting max contracts) and trying to grab some additional depth somehow. Heck, they could probably draft it.

There's 2 goals if youre an NBA owner, 1) win a championship, 2) turn a profit. But I think they come in that order, and right now, the Suns are on the brink. San Antonio is the only team that had a chance against them in the West, and with a healthy JJ, they would probably be in at least a 2-2 series instead of down 1-3. I don't see disgruntled players being an issue, we all know here how winning seems to make everything better, and if they keep the same starting 5, the Suns will only improve with experience.