<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Phoenix Suns are quietly putting out word that they will match any offer to restricted free agent Joe Johnson -- even a max contract worth more than $10 million. The investment would pay off over the longterm, because Johnson could be prepared to take over at point guard as Steve Nash gets older.</div> Sports Illustrated
Hm.. interesting. Question for any contract/cap buff here, wouln't that absolutely murder the Suns cap-wise of the next few years? And, when you match an offer, does it have to be the same length, as well as how much money? Say Joe Johnson got a 3 year 42 million dollar deal, would the Suns be able to give him a 6 year 43 million dollar deal? Gracias for any answers.
Wow, a max? I can understand that, though. Joe has a lot of character, heart, and talent. It's a joy watching someone with such drive. He's probably loved by the organization, he's very entertaining and he can score many points on any given night. I would be interested in seeing how Joe would do in a larger market, but I don't mind this either. Phoenix has gotten a lot more attention, but people tend to forget that if they were a larger market they'd probably be the most popular team in the league among the less interested fans. By "less interested fans" I mean the guys that will watch a game once in a while, a guy who doesn't follow the league much, etc.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting magnomonkey:</div><div class="quote_post">Hm.. interesting. Question for any contract/cap buff here, wouln't that absolutely murder the Suns cap-wise of the next few years? And, when you match an offer, does it have to be the same length, as well as how much money? Say Joe Johnson got a 3 year 42 million dollar deal, would the Suns be able to give him a 6 year 43 million dollar deal? Gracias for any answers.</div> Yes matching a contract has to be for the same length and dollar amount. The Suns will be capped out, but they will have their 5 starters locked in for the next 5 years. Marion, Nash, JJ, Q, and Amare (who will likely be extended soon). With those 5 the Suns will have to rely on draft talent to round out their bench and veterans willing to take paycuts for a shot at an NBA title. With the Suns saying they will max out Joe Johnson, they might just be trying to scare off other teams. This strategy has worked before, and then once teams start using up their cap space on other free agents the Suns can negotiate a smaller contract with him.
If JJ is indeed maxed out, the Suns will need to make a decision, They can't have 3 max players on their roster. If Joe gets the Max then I see Marion getting moved but I don't think It will come to that yet.
Joe Johnson deserves whatever type of money he gets in my opinion. The Suns are showing him their loyalty and he should be locked up as a Sun for a good amount of his career.
yeah <div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">If JJ is indeed maxed out, the Suns will need to make a decision, They can't have 3 max players on their roster. If Joe gets the Max then I see Marion getting moved but I don't think It will come to that yet.</div> I think these playoffs proved that Amare and Joe Johnson are both much more valuable to the Suns than Marion. I can't see him staying with the team too much longer due to financial constraints.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">I think these playoffs proved that Amare and Joe Johnson are both much more valuable to the Suns than Marion. I can't see him staying with the team too much longer due to financial constraints.</div> I don't see it happening. Marion had a poor playoff performance against the Spurs, but let's all remember he was playing out of position all season long at power forward. The Suns need to find a player able to start at center so they can slide Amare to the 4, and Marion back to the 3. Marion is a huge piece of the Suns puzzle because he takes a lot of rebounding responsibility from Amare and is the best defensive player the team has. The player the Suns need to unload is QRich. He's overpaid, and has become a one-dimensional player since he came to the NBA. In college, QRich had one of the best post games I've ever seen a guard display. He was a beast inside the paint in college and a great offensive rebounder. If I were the Suns I'd try to ship him to the Knicks for Malik Rose or Kurt Thomas.
Q works with the Suns because he fits with the Suns offensive system. Kurt Thomas and Malik Rose are not the type of players that would fit in their offense. They could use a guy like Stromile Swift or Dalembert, guys who can run the floor. Of course they won't be getting Dalembert though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Silky Smooth:</div><div class="quote_post">Q works with the Suns because he fits with the Suns offensive system. Kurt Thomas and Malik Rose are not the type of players that would fit in their offense. They could use a guy like Stromile Swift or Dalembert, guys who can run the floor. Of course they won't be getting Dalembert though. </div> Yeah Q works great in the Suns system in the regular season. However, you need balance if you want to win a championship team, and the Suns have a serious lack of balance. The Spurs are not going any where and will actually be even better next season when Luis Scola joins their roster. The Spurs exploited the Suns defense all series long and when the Spurs forced them to play in the halfcourt set the Suns failed miserably. Q Rich in particular couldn't do anything on either end of the court. Making close to $6M a season he's overpaid for what he brings to the Suns. The Suns have plenty of other guys who can make up for Q's contributions, Jim Jackson for starters. Jackson is a much better defender, too. Kurt Thomas might not be able to run the floor, but he doesn't need to. His value is being able to play post defense and help out on the rebounding. Having a guy like Kurt do the dirty work on the glass and get the outlet pass to Nash is more important than him being able to run up and down the court. Same with Malik Rose, he'll get the Suns extra looks because he's a great offensive rebounder. He's also a good post defender and gives the Suns energy on defense. Right now the Suns only player like that is Shawn Marion, and Marion is a SF playing out of position. Malik has playoff experience and I'm sure he'd love the chance to stick it to the Spurs after they traded him. A championship team needs these type of role players to come in and make an impact. The Suns can find plenty of other 3 point specialists at a fraction of the cost.
True, but instead of dumping Q off the team, they should just look for some more depth in the off-season. The least the Suns can do is just bring Quentin off the bench when needed for instant offense.
If they resign Johnson, they need to dump Richardson. They play the same spot and there is no use to have them both. Beyond that, if they keep both and go on to give Amare the max at some point, their going to be so far over the cap that they won't be able to make any big moves for a while. They need to choose between Johnson and Richardson, and while Richardson may be overpaid, he may end up coming cheaper than Johnson. If it does come down to a choice, it's all going to end up beign based off where the Suns want to go. If they want to keep their run 'n gun, no defense style of play, keep Q. If they choose to slow it down and play some defense, choose Johnson. Either way, they don't need both, and if they keep both, they're gonna have some tough financial problems down the line.
I think they are bluffing about matching any offer to scare teams away. IMO the Suns should let JJ walk. They cant afford to give him the max unless thay want to be in salary cap hell for a long time. By resigning JJ, they keep their current core intact, but I dont think their current core will be good enough to get them a championship. If they let JJ walk, move everyone back to their natural positions, pick up an athletic starting C, and add some bench depth they will be in pretty good shape to win a championship. Gadzuric could be a nice FA option for the Suns.
da pimp 1 What the Suns need to do is get rid of Quentin Richardson pick up a good athletic Center. I think they could have a chance of Signing a Veteran Center. Perhaps Alonzo Mourning or Antonio McDyess. I think Carlos Arroyo from the Pistons would be a good player to add to the bench if Johnson doesn't get resigned.
Why do people assume that losing one player will be ok for the suns future? THE SUNS HAD THE BEST RECORD IN TEH LEAGUE!! That is with their current roster. They were one team away from the finals. This is only the first year that this team has played together....Keep the dang team together for at least another year before you want to start trading...
Good idea but they need to bring everybody to their natural positions. That's why they need to move some contracts.
They should Keep Johnson and dump Q-rich has many others have said. Joe Johnson has played great wit the suns and its good to see the suns are showing loyalty to him.
Update- the Suns have traded Q-rich for Kurt Thomas. JJ is a really good player. I think he can average around 20 pts. That saying Maybe Q is overpaid but he did bring alot of outside shooting. He led the league in 3 pts made. They lose theyre best long range shooter and add a 6'9 Center small than Amare and no run-and-gun at all. IDK how he's going 2 do against the West's PF's but He's a good jumpshooter. Phunky the Suns did have the best record in the NBA, but it doesnt mean Squat if they cant beat the Spurs.
