Hawks Offer Johnson A Max Contract

By John Manasso
July 1, 2010

Numerous news outlets reported that the Hawks offered a six-year, $119 million contract to Johnson in their meeting and that Johnson was prepared to accept the offer.

A source with knowledge of the Hawks' negotiations with free agent All-Star guard Joe Johnson confirmed Thursday that the team will offer Johnson the maximum salary allowable under the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) over six years.

Thursday is the first day NBA teams can begin negotiations with unrestricted free agents but players are not allowed to sign contracts until July 8. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the Hawks would make such an offer. The league has yet to declare what exactly the maximum will be for a player of Johnson's experience (he is 29 and will be a 10-year veteran next season) but it is expected to be in the $119- to $125-million range over the life of the deal.

Because of a rule in the NBA's CBA designed to give teams an advantage in re-signing their own free agents -- the so-called "Larry Bird" rule -- the Hawks are allowed to offer Johnson one more year at the end of the contract than other NBA teams.

Perhaps that is why general manager Rick Sund said on draft night last week that he was "optimistic" that the team would re-sign Johnson who averaged 21.3 points last year for the Hawks during the regular season and who has averaged 21.9 during his five seasons in Atlanta.

With the free agency set to begin, rumors have swirled for weeks as to what would be the fate of Johnson, who is part of a group headlined by LeBron James, and other free agents who are perhaps the league's best group in history to hit the market all in the same year.

Reports have indicated that Dallas, in danger of losing Dirk Nowitzki who has opted out of his contract, would have interest in Johnson, perhaps in a sign-and-trade. Others have said that Johnson might be willing to make an early commitment to Chicago. Still another said that Johnson would be willing to take less money to sign with the Knicks, as Johnson could be re-united there with his former coach in Phoenix, Mike D'Antoni, and, theoretically, would recoup the dollars he would forgo in Atlanta through endorsement deals in the nation's largest media market.