KNICKMATIC809
Benchwarmer
Dont know if this was posted but here you go.....
NBA At 2: Johnson Says He's Staying
As the summer of 2010 and the most over-hyped free agency period in the history of free agency draws near, it seems one by one the big would-be free agents are starting to hint at their intentions. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James have all but said in so many words that they're not leaving their current teams, Chris Bosh is talking about what the Raptors need to do to keep him in town, and now Atlanta's Joe Johnson has let it be known that he has no desire to leave Atlanta. He quickly refuted recent reports that his relationship with New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni might sway him to head for the Big Apple this summer.
"I think everybody made such a big deal out of it because me and D'Antoni have a great relationship from Phoenix," Johnson told WCNN in Atlanta recently. "It is nothing more than that. We just talk and like to say 'What's up?' from time to time, but it is nothing bigger than that. My main attraction is here in Atlanta so you know there is nothing to that New York thing. I don't know where everybody is speculating and coming up with all of this stuff."
With that out of the way, the playoffs are at hand, and the Hawks have plenty to prove this year. After making steady progress under the tenure of head coach Mike Woodson, this is the year the Hawks need to take some steps towards the conference finals. Johnson is looking forward to the start of something special.
"It is definitely going to be fun. Just trying to break things down with Jamal (Crawford), how the atmosphere is going to be and I am glad that he is getting a chance to experience this for the first time. Like I said, it is going to be exciting. It is going to be a hostile crowd and I know everybody, we all can't wait to get out there and try to start something special."
The Milwaukee Bucks presented a bit more daunting challenge prior to Andrew Bogut's season-ending injury, but Johnson is well aware that they are still hungry and promise to give the Hawks all they can handle in the first round.
"We definitely know that," affirmed Johnson. "I think even with Bogut going down, you can't overlook them. That still will make them a dangerous team and probably even more dangerous because of the fact that everybody knows that they have to step up and everybody's role has gotten a lot bigger. Guys are going to be very, very aggressive and trying to start the game and it is going to be a tough game. It is going to be a tough series. I can see a lot of those perimeter guys really trying to take the load."
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15963
NBA At 2: Johnson Says He's Staying
As the summer of 2010 and the most over-hyped free agency period in the history of free agency draws near, it seems one by one the big would-be free agents are starting to hint at their intentions. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James have all but said in so many words that they're not leaving their current teams, Chris Bosh is talking about what the Raptors need to do to keep him in town, and now Atlanta's Joe Johnson has let it be known that he has no desire to leave Atlanta. He quickly refuted recent reports that his relationship with New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni might sway him to head for the Big Apple this summer.
"I think everybody made such a big deal out of it because me and D'Antoni have a great relationship from Phoenix," Johnson told WCNN in Atlanta recently. "It is nothing more than that. We just talk and like to say 'What's up?' from time to time, but it is nothing bigger than that. My main attraction is here in Atlanta so you know there is nothing to that New York thing. I don't know where everybody is speculating and coming up with all of this stuff."
With that out of the way, the playoffs are at hand, and the Hawks have plenty to prove this year. After making steady progress under the tenure of head coach Mike Woodson, this is the year the Hawks need to take some steps towards the conference finals. Johnson is looking forward to the start of something special.
"It is definitely going to be fun. Just trying to break things down with Jamal (Crawford), how the atmosphere is going to be and I am glad that he is getting a chance to experience this for the first time. Like I said, it is going to be exciting. It is going to be a hostile crowd and I know everybody, we all can't wait to get out there and try to start something special."
The Milwaukee Bucks presented a bit more daunting challenge prior to Andrew Bogut's season-ending injury, but Johnson is well aware that they are still hungry and promise to give the Hawks all they can handle in the first round.
"We definitely know that," affirmed Johnson. "I think even with Bogut going down, you can't overlook them. That still will make them a dangerous team and probably even more dangerous because of the fact that everybody knows that they have to step up and everybody's role has gotten a lot bigger. Guys are going to be very, very aggressive and trying to start the game and it is going to be a tough game. It is going to be a tough series. I can see a lot of those perimeter guys really trying to take the load."
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15963