…and he’s expected to accept the deal.
The Atlanta Hawks offered Joe Johnson a six-year, $119 million contract Thursday morning, and sources close to the All-Star guard expect him to accept the max deal soon.
The Hawks moved quickly at midnight ET to try to secure their franchise star and offered the contract that Johnson’s agent Arn Tellem sought from the organization. Sources say ownership OK’d the max offer and general manager Rick Sund delivered it in Los Angeles.
The writing seemed to be on the wall for Johnson, but the Hawks stepped up with a big offer that is probably too good for Johnson to pass up. He could sign the deal and stay in Atlanta, but now he has the leverage necessary to force a sign-and-trade to another team.
Johnson isn’t a ‘max’ player, but that doesn’t mean much when there are so many teams with cap space to burn this summer. I suspect the Hawks will be regretting this decision in 2-3 years.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
