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Originally Posted by maximusveritas
Looks like the Mobley signing is a done deal as well as the Butler-Brown trade.
I don't expect the Suns to give up Joe Johnson. The guy gets better every year and has superstar potential in my opinion. He's worth whatever the Hawks offer. It may be trouble in the future though when Amare starts getting paid the max along with Marion and Nash.
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The Hawks have already indicated that they will sign him to the max offer of 5 years/$70 million. The Suns had offered 6 years/$60 million, but Johnson obviously refused. They could have inked him for that before the season started, but they were too frugal at the time. Hindsight is 20/20. From what I read, GM's around the league have questioned whether the Suns will indeed match that offer as they have said they would all along. If they do, they will have Marion (earns $17 million in his final year) and Johnson maxed out, Nash making a lot ($13 million in his final year), and Amare maxed out soon. Not to mention, they agreed in principle to sign Bell for 5 years /$25 million. Kurt Thomas is going to be making 6, 7, and 8 million the next three years as well.
Thomas adds interior toughness and a good mid-range shot for a big man. Bell has improved since he has came into the league, and plays good defense. The acquisitions of those two indicate that they plan to contend, so resigning Johnson only makes sense.