Good for Joe, BAD for Atlanta at that price tag. Joe Johnson is a great player, but he, like Bosh, Boozer and Amare are second tier stars. They aren't max guys, but this is a buyers market so people are always going to get paid. Freakin' Darko got 20 million and he's a bust. I've alot to say about this...
Re Joe Johnson: He's a quitter. He straight out quit on the Hawks in the playoffs. He's not a max guy and he will never lead the Hawks anywhere past the second round. He'd be a great number two to a LeBron or Wade, but you can't build around a guy who is a public quitter and has never shown up for a big game in his career. There's a reason Phoenix let him walk and never missed a beat. The same applies to Rudy Gay. Memphis is absolutely dumb to give a one dimensional scorer 80 mil, he was ranked the worst defender in the league amongst those who played starter minutes. Yuck.
R.e Chris Bosh: He's not under rated, if he gets the max he's over rated. He's no better than Boozer or Amare, he just had more touches and that's why his scoring is only slightly better than Boozer. He can't post or defend stronger big guys and doesn't want to play center. And the worst thing is he relies too much on his jump shot and never enough on his post game, just like Rasheed except he doesn't have a winners mentality, that's why he wants to be the second fiddle to LeBron or Wade and exactly the reason he isn't worthy of the max. He's worth alot, but not the max.
R.e "The big two or three": The teams best suited to bring in two or three max players are easily Chicago or New Jersey. Miami has NOTHING left to put around anyone. Even if Bosh, Wade AND LBJ go to Miami, all that they have left to fill the roster are Mario Chalmers, Mike Beasley and a slew of second rounders. Easily the worst supporting crew in the league. Each guy is going to have to go for 30 a night to win constantly and that's not going to happen, not to mention Miami would have to lose Beasley, and NO ONE wants him, before they could sign all 3 or two or all of them are going to have to leave some money on the table and the only one from a character perspective who would do that is Wade. Still, the fact remains that they'd put an absolutely garbage supporting cast around them. New York has slightly more talent to put around them but Gallinari and Wilson Chandler are still somewhat project players and there isn't much else on that roster. Hence why the second tier players like Amare are going to wind up there. Good luck with that Knick fans, see how good Amare is without a play making PG to get him the ball.
New Jersey is a good answer because they are in the New York area, are about to move to Brooklyn and have a billionaire Russian Mark Cuban owner who wants to win. And most importantly, they have some young talent there. Brooke Lopez automatically cancels out the need for Bosh and he has a better nose for rebounding than Chris has and he can pass really well. Not to mention Derrick Favors looks like he is already NBA ready. They have a very solid point guard who has no problem deferring to the star in Devin Harris and Damion James was also a nice pick in the draft. Plus Courtney Lee and Terrance Williams were both scrappy combo wing players. Bring in James and maybe Boozer and a solid back up PG this team makes the play offs for sure and with the advancement of their young talent, could be contending in two to 3 years. Certainly they are in a better position than the Knicks.
But the best option for either Wade and/or LBJ is Chicago. No doubt. They have talent. Rose is a top ten PG, Noah is a smaller French version of Ben Wallace and Luol Deng is quite serviceable though he could be the odd man out. And there is some bench depth with Taj Gibson. With two max dudes they are possible contenders, no doubt. But I think Wade is a better fit than James because he doesn't need the ball in his hands as much as James does to be effective and Rose needs the ball to be effective as well. But I think for any team that is looking to contend and win championships, Wade is the better fit regardless. He just has more heart and a bigger winners mentality.
R.e second tier players: I'm not going to hate on the players, it's not their faults that desperate owners and GMs overpay guys like Bosh, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson Boozer and Amare. They are great players, but to me, max players are franchise guys. LBJ, Wade, Dirk and Pierce are really the only max dudes on the market. Pierce is old, but he has mad heart, is a better defender than any of those 2nd tier guys I mentioned and is wily as fuck. Dude has diminished athleticism and has adapted quite well and can score in a variety of ways. He deserves what he gets. But I'm not as upset with the Johnson and Gay contracts as I am with guys like Darko getting 20 mill for 4 points and 3 rebounds or friggin Dwight Gooden getting 32 million for having been on 6 teams in 4 years. That's just bad and the reason why teams like the Wolves will remain in the cellar for years. Bad GMing got these bloated salaries to begin with. Just yuck.
Best available free agents still available:
1. Wade- if you want to win NOW, he's the guy
2. LBJ- if he had won something by now, he'd be no. 1 but you can't go wrong with either
3. Bosh- great, but not a max guy, he not wanting to be the no. 1 guy proves that
4. Boozer- when healthy better than Amare because he can make his own shot and guess what, he can play D
5. Amare- how will he do without a play making PG? We'll find out.
6. David Lee- hustle and heart, but if moved to a team with more talent, will his stats look just as good?
7. Louis Scola- restriced FA but could be the steal of the FA class if Houston doesn't resign him
8. Al Harrington- can score, but needs the ball alot and doesn't rebound well for his size
9. Ray Allen- OLD. But can still get it done. Question is, will he get it done for a fair price?
10. Vet. bargains- Shaq, Grant Hill, Richard Jefferson,Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Mike Miller, Jermain O'Neal and Allen Iverson
