The Hawks have 8 wins and 2 losses in their first 10 games with a margin of victory of eight points per game.
The Hawks early success in the regular season is a bad sign for any teams who were hoping to tempt Joe Johnson away from Atlanta next summer. The Hawks are looking like a 55+ win team right now and they still have enough youth/potential to improve further. It will be hard for teams to offer a better situation than the one Atlanta is offering.
Secondly, with Atlanta winning the Hawks front office will reluctant to let Joe leave. Questions over whether a player is max contract worthy, or how many years you want to commit to a player, those questions have a habit of dying down when teams are winning.
And let’s not forget that GM Rick Sund was the general manager who gave Ray Allen a maximum contract back in Seattle when several analysts openly questioned the idea of giving a player of Ray’s age that type of long money. Joe Johnson will be a year younger next offseason than Ray was when Ray got his deal.
Atlanta also holds Joe Johnson’s bird rights which gives them the option of outbidding any and all suitors by offering an extra year of guaranteed money.
Summary
The more successful Atlanta is this season the less likely Joe Johnson is to leave. Currently, they’re playing excellent basketball and look fair game to win 55+ games this season.
The success of the team will make the situation more appetizing for Joe Johnson + make it more difficult for the Hawks front office to decline paying JJ the money he’s going to ask for. Very few teams will be able to offer a better situation — in terms of winning — than the Hawks can next summer.
Teams that were hoping to pry JJ away next summer should start looking harder at their fallback options because it looks unlikely that Joe will leave Atlanta this summer.
