Johnson Dealt to the Nets
What Options Are Left for Howard?
NEWARK, N.J. — The Nets have agreed to make a major move that they hope results in Deron Williams calling Brooklyn home next season — and it doesn’t involve Dwight Howard. In fact, it means the Nets likely are out of the Howard sweepstakes.
Shooting guard Joe Johnson is headed to the Nets in a blockbuster six-player trade, league sources confirmed. The Nets will send Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and a 2013 first-round pick acquired from Houston to the Hawks. Stevenson is a free agent, so he’ll go to Atlanta in a sign-and-trade.
The deal was agreed upon in principle Monday and is not contingent upon Williams agreeing to re-sign with the Nets. But it can’t be official until the NBA moratorium is lifted July 11.
Johnson, 31, a five-time AllStar, has averaged 17.8 points in 11 seasons with the Celtics, Suns and Hawks. He has four years and more than $90 million left on his contract. There were reports of a snag in that the Hawks wanted secondyear guard Mar Shon Brooks in the trade. The Nets resisted including him. But Atlanta wasn’t going to let that hold up the deal, which will allow the Hawks to get Johnson’s money off the books for five players whose contracts expire next summer.
The Hawks, meanwhille, also sent forward Marvin Williams to Utah for guard Devin Harris.
HOWARD: It appears that the Nets have given up hope of landing Dwight Howard. On Sunday, he told Yahoo! Sports that he would sign long term with only with one team; he didn’t name the specific franchise, but he was referring to the Nets.
Will Howard now consider other teams? Maybe the Mavericks? Or the Clippers? Or maybe even his hometown Hawks, who now have two of his closest NBA friends on the roster, Josh Smith and Anthony Morrow, and are freeing up cap space to be major players in the 2013 free-agent market?
And don’t forget the Lakers, who can offer Andrew Bynum.
LAKERS: Looking to bolster one of the weakest benches in the league, the Lakers have made preliminary inquiries to the representative of freeagent small forwards Nick Young and Brandon Rush.
Both are considered solid long-distance shooters but also beyond the Lakers’ price range.
CLIPPERS: The Clippers plan on offering Jamal Crawford the mid-level exception that starts at $5 million, for three years, executives said.
The Clippers also are planning on offering a contract to Chauncey Billups. Billups, who is recovering from a torn left Achilles’ tendon injury, will get a one-year offer from the Clippers for up to $4.3 million if he reaches bonuses.
CELTICS: Team president Danny Ainge is hoping to keep intact the aging trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, who brought the Celtics their first NBA championship in 22 years in 2008.
Pierce is already under contract and Garnett has reportedly agreed to a new threeyear deal.
Allen is reportedly being courted by Miami and Memphis, but the Celtics are in position to offer Allen more money than either the Heat or Grizzlies.