Top 2010 free agents...Joe ranked 6th!

[KrishATL]

i know it's not by some senior editor or anything, but still...interesting to see JJ ranked that high by some guy who seems to know what he's talking about...above the like of Yao, Dirk, and Manu.

He seems to really like the JJ/Horford combo (although i dont see it as much of a combo right now).

Still love Joe myself, but it's tough when reminded of his play recently, although to his credit, i do blame a lot on Mike Woodson's over usage of him.

anywho, check it out. and whoop dee doo, guess who's number #1????

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/194111-...-of-2010#page/7

Edited June 7, 2009 by KrishATL

[MaceCase]

A lot of people don't think it but Joe is a prize. Outside of the big 5 (although if not for that ring I'd drop Pierce a spot) he brings something the rest of that list doesn't: relative youth, shooting and most importantly durability.

The only real reason why I want to see him traded is because of what he could net us in return and the fact he is significantly older than the rest of our core. It would be both a disservice to him and team that he would spend his prime playing on a team that's just having it's training wheels taken off. Unless we get older to win now I'd hate to see one of my favorite players become one of those albatross contracts affecting a teams development 5 years down the road.

[HawksFan87]

LOL @ the Combo of Johnson and Horford.. Anywhoo.. I would take Joe over Paul Pierce, just because I can't stand him, and I prefer Joe's game.

[NJHAWK]

I think if you had 10 different analyst or even fans rank that list it would turn out 10 different ways. Lebron and Wade are the clear cut 1/2. Im not sure Amare is 3 with all of his injuries and the ? always will be can he stay healthy and play without Nash? If your going to slide Yao down the list for injury shouldnt you do the same for Amare? I wouldnt trade Joe for Amare because of those 2 factors. PP the self proclaimed best player in the nba has a track record of losing without KG and Ray.

[Flight]

I think are 'System' (If we can call it that) is best fitting for Joe. He probably would just be put into a role player type slot at any other team. This is the one team where he can lead and win. If he left he would have to start all over with a team that most likely not that good.

[Diesel]

The only real reason why I want to see him traded is because of what he could net us in return and the fact he is significantly older than the rest of our core. It would be both a disservice to him and team that he would spend his prime playing on a team that's just having it's training wheels taken off. Unless we get older to win now I'd hate to see one of my favorite players become one of those albatross contracts affecting a teams development 5 years down the road.

This is where and why I disagree with you. Joe is not that much older than our core.. moreover, our core may change in other ways. Let's say for instance our Core is Joe, Josh, and Horf... Those are the three we can account for. Marvin is a free agent and so is Bibby.

Right now, Joe is 27.

Horford is 23.

Josh is 22 or 23.

4 years is not significantly older. In fact, they are all relatively young. Now let's postulate we get a vet PG other than Bibby (31). The fact that we have 2 young guys playing in our frontcourt doesn't change the fact that Joe is still young. Wade and Shaq won a championship together.

Age is just a number. Ability counts for everything. For instance, if we lucked up and traded Josh Smith for Bosh and Bibby for Durant. And we picked up Ramond Felton. Would you still trade Joe? We're much younger.

The point is that Joe represents talent. You win in this league with Talent, not with age. Therefore, I'm more inclined to keep Joe until he says he wants to go elsewhere.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Of course JJ is going to be ranked that high on the free agent list in 2010. It's like some in this fan base forgets how versitile of a player JJ is, just because he had a bad playoff stretch this year.

Like I told people a few weeks back, if JJ doesn't fall completely off the Earth, he's going to be one of the most sought after FA's in 2010. AND HE'S GOING TO GET PAID!!

I've said for a few years on this board, that JJ is the most underappreciated Hawk on the roster. Hopefully, Sund will give him his 85 - 90 million contract, and lock him up long before he hits the market.

[MaceCase]

This is where and why I disagree with you. Joe is not that much older than our core.. moreover, our core may change in other ways. Let's say for instance our Core is Joe, Josh, and Horf... Those are the three we can account for. Marvin is a free agent and so is Bibby.

Right now, Joe is 27.

Horford is 23.

Josh is 22 or 23.

4 years is not significantly older. In fact, they are all relatively young. Now let's postulate we get a vet PG other than Bibby (31). The fact that we have 2 young guys playing in our frontcourt doesn't change the fact that Joe is still young. Wade and Shaq won a championship together.

Age is just a number. Ability counts for everything. For instance, if we lucked up and traded Josh Smith for Bosh and Bibby for Durant. And we picked up Ramond Felton. Would you still trade Joe? We're much younger.

The point is that Joe represents talent. You win in this league with Talent, not with age. Therefore, I'm more inclined to keep Joe until he says he wants to go elsewhere.

The answer is an even more resounding yes in the event that were to happen. If anything that falls more into the problem I could see arising. Joe will command 20 million in 2010, Bosh would as well, and even if Al were to get a deal comparable to Smoove, Durant would demand max as well just a year later with him. That is 60million you'd have tied up in 4 players alone. Obviously they all see themselves as viable options on offense so where do you see yourself making cuts to make your team better elsewhere or more efficient?

Joe again will be the odd man out, his presence alone would take away touches from Durant and in your fantasy scenario, in 2011 when both Durant and Al would be up for extensions, management will look at their team like this.

Joe is 30

Bosh is 27

Durant is 22

Horf is 25

It's even more obvious in that scenario than our current real team that Joe has to go. That team may have success in the short term but financially and practical wise would become a disaster. Joe and "Bosh" remain the number 1 options because of their contracts alone. That fact will keep "Durant" from being the man with the ball in his hands and Al from being the guy in the post, these are the developmental issues I'm talking about. What may look good on paper or your fantasy team does not translate in the real world in terms of finances or sharing the one ball on the court.

We've already seen Joe be a ball dominator and how that affects the touches that our young guys get, that is not going to change with recieving a bigger contract. You are not going to pay a guy when he is 32 20million dollars to defer the ball to others unless those others are named Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.