Phoenix Suns’ decline began with Joe Johnson blunderAugust 04 09  One decision can change everything for an NBA franchise. Consider Phoenix’s fall from contender to pretender. There is the belief several factors suddenly came together last year and forced the Suns ‘to set’ without making the Western Conference playoffs. The coaching change, Amare Stoudemire’s injury, Steve Nash’s age, Shaquille O’Neal’s slow feet, and other elements conspired to prevent the desert from seeing a second-season oasis. Some even blamed Robert Horry and his infamous body-check for the woes of 2008-09. They’re all wrong. Not re-signing Joe Johnson is the main reason for Phoenix’s decline on-court and as an organization. Remember, in the summer of 2005, owner Robert Sarver opted against matching Atlanta’s $75 million offer sheet to Johnson, who was then a restricted free agent. Instead, a sign-and-trade was arranged: the 6-8 two-guard was swapped for Boris Diaw and Royal Ivey. This bit the Suns in the you-know-what last season and will have repercussions in the future. Johnson would have also developed into an All-Star in Phoenix. His scoring average would have climbed well over 20 points per game, while his ability to play and defend multiple positions would have been useful in playoff battles against Dallas and San Antonio. But Johnson would have been most valuable last season. He could have served as a bridge from ‘Seven Seconds To Shoot’ to whatever identity the team next took. Most importantly, the Suns would have a legit go-to guy to alleviate pressure from an aging Nash. Letting Johnson walk also damaged the club’s reputation. Fans quickly realized Sarver was more concerned with saving money than flooring a winner, which never occurred when the Colangelo family was in charge. Other cost-cutting measures soon followed. First round draft picks Nate Robinson and Rajon Rondo were given away for cap space. Veteran Kurt Thomas was dealt to the then Seattle Sonics for draft picks and a trade exception. But Johnson’s departure was the first and greatest example of the bottom-line taking precedence over winning a championship. One decision in sports can be significant. Clearly, the Phoenix Suns have never recovered from their decision not to keep Joe Johnson. What impact did letting Johnson go have in Phoenix? Get at us in the comment box below and return to HoopsVibe The Blog for NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of KU.
Posted by
WHATDAHELL
on 08.6.2009 | ARE YOU SERIOUS? THEY GOT BORIS DIAW IN RETURN WHO WAS THEIR VERSION OF "LAMAR ODOM". PHOENIX’S PROBLEM WAS THAT WHEN NASH WASNT IN THE GAME, THEY WERE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TEAM AND THEY NEVER DEVELOPED A BACKUP PG. THEY STILL DONT HAVE ONE NOW BESIDES 56 YEAR OLD GRANT HILL. I NEED TO START MY OWN BLOG CUZ HALF THESE SPORTSWRITERS NEVER TOUCHED A BALL OUTSIDE THE YMCA. . | Posted by
davey 678
on 08.5.2009 | Yea I feel you Gnafron but the suns have a history of bad moves Point blank period! They always wait to late to trade someone or trade there players before they reach there potential! Joe is a star and Raja and Boris were good players no doubt but look at who is still there...Nobody! Exactly my point, this year would have been the best year to load the team with talent with one year contracts but n o the extend nash! I mean whats the point when you dont have a team around him atleast try to get Nash to a team with talent and recieve young and upcoming talent! . | Posted by
Gnafron
on 08.5.2009 | Please note that I’m not anyway trying to say that Bell is a better player than Johnson. While a better defender and as good a shooter, Raja is far from beeing as skilled and creative as Johnson.Just trying to say that when the suns moved him, they ended with him and Diaw who pretty much made up for the loss (Bell for defense and shooting, Diaw for playmaking rebounding and flexibility) while improving the team’s depth. This was proved by the good suns seasons after Joe’s departure.Also sorry for typo but my mobile keyboard is just horrible and I just don’t bother backspacing anymore. . | Posted by
Gnafron
on 08.5.2009 | First of all Johsnon indeed asked ths uns FO not to match the offer, not so much because he wanted to be the #1 option of the team that year (although he did say he liked the fact that he would Atlanta’s PG, which did not turn out that well by the way) but because he was still pissed that the suns did not offer him the extension he had asked the year before (about 40 Millions which really would have been a bargain while the Suns were offering something in 30 Millions range).Then whoever thinks Johnson is a better shooter or defender than Bell is just kidding himslf:1. Bell got twice named to all-defensive team (1st and 2nd in 2007 and 2008 respectively) which Johson still has to do.2. Carreer shooting average of both players:- J. Johnson: 0.441 (0.374 from 3, 0.789 at the line)- R. Bell: 0.440 (0.395 from 3, 0.877 form the line).Now I understand how emotional this kind of forum can become, but please when debating concrete facts, it’s not hard to get documented (took me about 5 minutes on NBA.com).I rest my case. . | Posted by
O.Sandor
on 08.4.2009 | Hi folks. There are reports Johnson told the Suns not to bother matching Atlanta’s offer. JJ was unhappy as the fourth option, which reinforces my point. Johnson should have been the second star behind Nash and the Suns lead scorer. PHO bet on the wrong second star: STAT, Marion, Shaq, J-Rich etc. After this move, other deals to save money were made. On and off-court this was a turning point for the franchise. thanks for weighing-in. . | Posted by
JohnnyYen
on 08.4.2009 | "Remember, in the summer of 2005, owner Robert Sarver opted against matching Atlanta’s $75 million offer sheet to Johnson, who was then a restricted free agent."--- FRankly, no - as Billy posted above, Sarver had so alienated Johnson,Joe told Sarver not to bother matching the offer. He was done with PHX.And describing the KT trade as"Veteran Kurt Thomas was dealt to the then Seattle Sonics for draft picks and a trade exception" doesn’t quite convey the ass-rapingly awful nature of the deal.KT plus two unprotected firsts for a conditional 2nd rounder and the exception.PHX paid the then-Sonics to take KT and save them the tax on his $8mil. Then they sent KT to the Spurs for another 1st rounder and expirings.Which the Suns could have done if they’d waited until the deadline.A contender for the worst NBA deal ever. . | Posted by
gm 4 hire
on 08.4.2009 | I didnt get the Joe Johnson move. They didnt want to pay him when it was time so they ended up trading him for boris diaw who at the time was a shooting guard in atlanta and end up playing power forward for the suns lol that just goes to show you how acquiring joe Joe Joe was so importatnt to a team and a franchise but thats a whole differnt issue! Then they trade Quentin Richardson who led the league in three point shooiting that year along with there first round draft pick nate robinson for kurt thomas the same year they drafted Marcin Gortat and traded him to the eastern conference Champs oralando magic! Joe was just the begining of the end . The suns just coouldnt see there players getting older! And they also didnt draft well and the good draft pick they got they traded away for cash trying to keep Nash and Stoudamire. They are good but they need great role playersand a young energetic star player. But hopefully this year there roockies step up big this year and have a impact! . | Posted by
ronh
on 08.4.2009 | Phoenix run ended when they had the spurs on the ropes in the 07 playoffs. Stern and Stu Jackson made they bulls---decision to suspend amare and boris that is where it ended not joe johnson. . | Posted by
Snika
on 08.4.2009 | I think he wanted out of Phoenix, to be a little higher than the number 4 option. BUT, I think this article is meant to show when the Suns decline started. They had the best record in the league in Joe’s last year there. Him leaving, though not right away, began their decent. I don’t think Oly was trying to say it ALL fell apart because of him, but that was the first negative thing that happened, and the one that most people overlook. By the way, Raja Bell is NOT as good of a defender as Johnson, or as good of shooter. . | Posted by
Billy
on 08.4.2009 | Didn’t Joe Johnson tell the suns NOT to match the atlanta offer and to let him go there...Im positive that is wut happened. He wanted to be the number 1 guy and with PHO at the time he was only a number 4 option. . | Posted by
Gnafron
on 08.4.2009 | What a bullshit. While it’s true that Johnson is an incredible player, I can’t see any relation between his departure and the end of the suns.After he was traded, Phoenix twice posted 60+ records while going all the way to the final conference (without its leading scorer and only legit big man!).This move allowed Phoenix to aquire Raja Bell (who by the way was a way better defender than Johnson will ever be while offering the same deadly outside touch) and Boris Diaw (who gave Phoenix a bit more depth upfront - just imagine a team without Diaw when Stoudemire get hurt, they don’t even get past the Lakers - while keeping the playmaking ability and position flexibility as Johnson.Now I would not argue what could’ve happen, had Phoenix re-signed him (or, even better, had given him an extension the year before, when he was even cheaper) and most of the teams Johnson went through (hello Boston) probably felt the same way, but calling his departure the end of the Suns is just not right!Shaq’s trade was the end of the suns as it completely stopped D’antoni’s offense while not even improving the defense a leak and destructing and eating any kind of cap space the suns could have try creating.The Move took away the whole spirit of the team and tunred it into a more conventional team. This basically rang the end of the D’Antoni era in Phoenix, who was the whole reason the team was performant in the first place. . | Posted by
O.Sandor
on 08.4.2009 | Hi Snika, thanks for commenting. I absolutely agree. Johnson is a legit All-Star, plays both ways, and, best of all, is drama free. What a combination! Think about what the Suns have put up with from co-stars over the years: STAT’s outbursts about an extension, Marion’s pouting, Shaq’s negativity, and J-Rich’s DUI. Wouldn’t a hassle-free All-Star look good right now? Well said Snika. Thanks for contributing! . | Posted by
Snika
on 08.4.2009 | I totally agree, even though I am from Joe Cool’s home state, so I am quite biased. Joe has always been an incredibly underrated player, and it is because of his reserved personality. Joe is one of the best 2-way players in the game. And not just by loading the stat sheet, he plays real lock down one on one defense. While at Arkansas, no one could ever figure out what he was great at... he was just great. He leads by example, and doesn’t require attention or distractions from his team. No question, if Phoenix could’ve kept Joe Cool, they might have made it a round deeper in the playoffs a couple of seasons. Just to give him even more credit, Atlanta has made progress every season since he has been there. Their wins have gone up every season, and they went from not making the playoffs, to giving the Champ Celtics all they could handle, to a second round matchup against Lebron this year. If this continues, they will win 50 games this year, and make the Eastern Conference Finals (I doubt this happens, but that is the kind of progress they have made) . |
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Oly Sandor | Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More |
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