Most Chicago Bulls fans I talk to have the same opinion regarding the direction they want the Bulls to go in the epic free agent class of 2010. Option one is always Wade with Joe Johnson a decent back-up plan. At the forward position, people are fairly split between Bosh and Staudemire. The way I see it, having Johnson as the back-up plan would be a waste of money that could be used more efficiently this summer or even next.
Johnson definitely has his worth in the NBA, but considering the Bulls only have the money to pay max dollars to one free agent, Johnson will not be enough to make the Bulls a championship contender. If that is the case, then what is the point in signing a big name free agent. Fans watch their favorite teams in hopes of doing the impossible and winning a championship. This process may take 5 years, 10 years, or even 100 years if you happen to root for the northsiders. Neal Huntington, the GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates, said it best after dropping the team payroll to $30 million this season. He would rather put money into the draft, player development, and international scouting instead of overspending so Jose Guillen can hit 25 meaningless home runs for you. The same applies in the NBA, but to a greater degree because teams are constrained by a salary cap and a small roster of players.
So why am I so down on Joe Johnson? The same reason I am down on any player. He is an inefficient scorer. This season he is averaging 21 points on 18 shots. That is a perfect representation of his entire career. His one true superstar season came in 2007 when he averaged 25 points on 20 shots. He is unlikely to ever reproduce that season and should be expected to perform at his career norms. A +3 point to shot differential is not worthy of someone making between 15-20 million per year. A true superstar would normally double that differential and consistently average 24 on 18 shots or 26 on 20 shots. You may be asking yourself, whats the big deal? It's only a 3 point difference per game. It can't have that big an effect. It actually can and does. Only 5 teams in the NBA have a point differential greater or less than 5 per game. The other 25 teams normally play close games that are decided by 5 points or less. Just look at the Bulls losing Ben Gordon. His extra 5 points per game over Kirk Heinrich have been perfectly represented by the Bulls scoring going down 5 points per game over last seasons average.
You may also be thinking to yourself, well how is Joe Johnson any different from Derrick Rose. They have nearly identical numbers but you TBO praise Rose while punish Johnson. There is a difference between them. Rose is 21 years old and plays point guard, which Johnson is 28 and is a shooting guard. The fact that Rose gets to the free throw line as a PG more than Johnson as the scoring position is laughable. Superstars get to the charity strip more than 3.6 times per game. Period, end of conversation. I'm willing to bet the best player on every team gets to the line more than that. Yes, he's a decent shooter from the field. Above average from 3. And facilitates the offense better than most guards, but his inability to be a dominant player makes him expendable just like Ben Gordon was. If Gordon was too expensive for the Bulls at $10 million then there is no reason to throw $20 million at Joe Johnson. His best option is probably to stay in Atlanta who have a strong supporting cast for Johnson play with.
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