Joe Johnson would stir the interest of the Heat if he buys his way off the Nets, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald hears (Twitter link). Johnson said today that he doesn’t know whether he’ll negotiate a buyout but didn’t rule out the idea and added that he’ll have a talk with agent Jeff Schwartz in the next week, as the swingman told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of The Record. The 34-year-old Johnson is making close to $24.895MM, a difficult salary to fit in a trade, and it doesn’t appear as though the Heat see him as a trade target.
The Heat are without combo guard Tyler Johnson, who’s scheduled to undergo rotator cuff surgery this week, for at least two months, and they don’t have an open roster spot to make an addition. Miami could always waive a player and risk eating his salary, but that would be a risky proposition financially. The Heat are faced with either clearing about $5.5MM in salary, likely via trade, or paying repeat-offender luxury tax penalties at season’s end.
Midseason signees usually end up with the prorated minimum salary, though particularly attractive buyout candidates sometimes command more. The Heat have about $2.85MM on their taxpayer’s mid-level exception to spend, but doing so would impose a further financial burden. Johnson is averaging 11.3 points per game, his fewest since the 2002/03 season, and shooting a career-worst 39% from the field, but he put up 13.5 points a night and shot 48.5% in January. Johnson has said multiple times this season that he’ll prioritize finding a winning team when he next hits free agency, and the Heat, at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, would seemingly fit that bill.
Would Johnson help the Heat? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
He would be a good fit for the Heat, but would make them even slower and poorer perimeter defensively.
I haven’t looked at numbers, but it’s hard to judge him on this season, considering the team he is on. He has been a good defender in the past. I think in the right situation on a team where he isn’t a ball stopper, but plays in the flow of the offense using his versatility as a capable facilitator, someone that can take you off the dribble, shoot the 3, and post up, he could be a reliable 3 and D option. He could also give the Heat some clutch factor, and an option off the bench, which lessens the load on Gerald Green, especially while Tyler Johnson is out
Hey Heat! Duck the tax by trading McRoberts, it’d get you right under.
They can ship him and protected 1st round pick to the Sixers for the rights to some unknown europlayer.
With or without Tyler Johnson, the Heat need a 3 and D wing player, as does most every team in the league right now. Joe Johnson doesn’t seem to make sense in that regard if you just look at his numbers from this year. However, if you consider those numbers more of a result of the team he is on, rather than a pure realization of his decline, he does fit.
He has been a good defender in the past. He could be used at the 3/4 spots, which doesn’t exactly make him a perfect fit, but he could switch between 2/3/4 in certain lineups b/c of the versatility of Wade, Deng, Winslow, Green,Bosh, and McRoberts. I think in the right situation on a team where he isn’t a ball stopper, but plays in the flow of the offense using his versatility as a capable facilitator, someone that can take you off the dribble, shoot the 3, and post up, he could be a reliable 3 and D option. He could also give the Heat some clutch factor, and an option off the bench, which lessens the load on Gerald Green, especially while Tyler Johnson is out. I would still look for someone that is more of a shooter at the 2/3 position, but I would be fine with Joe Johnson if it were to happen, and he plays the way he would be required to play
Teams in contention that I think Joe Johnson would make some sense on, as of now: Spurs, OKC, Memphis, Mavs, Portland in the West, and the Cavs, Heat, Hawks, and Bulls in the East. I would say that that it would probably be between Memphis and the Mavs in the West, and the East teams. Joe Johnson is friends with Dwyane Wade. Perhaps that gives them a bit of an edge over everyone except Atlanta.
Why do u think the mavs need Johnson
I would add the Pacers to that list too. I might be a little biased being a Pacers fan, but they could use another scorer and one who can be counted on to score if/when the game is on the line and/or George and Ellis are struggling. A crunch time/go to lineup of Ellis/Hill/Johnson/George/big man could be dangerous with good ball movers and shooters.
Aren’t Deng and Johnson basically the same player at this point? 10-12 pts, 6 comb rebounds and assists, a block, or a steal. If they want that, they could go grab Marcus Thornton for a future 2nd. They also have Green, who is also basically the same. How many of the same type of players do they need? Jermai Grant from PHI would make more sense as he can D-up. Or Gary Harris from DEN in as a 3rd trade partner to unloading Hickson/Foye. If they were smart, they’d flip Whiteside since he’s UFA and they don’t seem too happy with him.
The heat don’t have anyone to trade…..I would agree that he is similar to Deng at this point, with not as good defense. The Heat could use that though. Also, relying on Gerald Green is not good
Johnson with rose butler gasol and taj is a solid starting 5
With brooks Portis mirtioc doggie fresh and snell should do damage soon enough rose Johnson and gasol can get their own basket
if he really wants a ring , then it has to be between the cavs, warriors and spurs if he signs with anyone else its a legit longshot.
Johnson 2 Cavs
yes he would comin off the bench after Wade