In
this April 4, 2012, file photo, Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson, right,
drives against Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald Henderson,in an NBA basketball
game in Atlanta. Multiple media outlets, starting with ESPN and all
citing anonymous sources, are reporting the Hawks and New Jersey Nets
have agreed to a trade that would send Johnson from Atlanta to Brooklyn,
Monday, July 2. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
If you're not an Atlanta sports fan,
you wouldn't understand why Monday could be considered one of the
greatest days in a fandom's history. There are no finals or championships being played
anywhere right now. But we don't really win titles anyway (only one in the
city's history -- David Justice represent). For us, it's the
offseason news -- the trades, the signings, the drafts -- that keep
us going.
Hope springs eternal so long as the
Braves,
Falcons
or
Hawks aren't actually playing (and likely losing).
That's
why Monday -- when new
United States Supreme Chancellor Atlanta Hawks
GM Danny Ferry was able to
ship off not just the albatross that is
Joe Johnson's contract, but also eliminate the living, breathing
manifestation of an entire generation of drafting mistakes
Marvin
Williams in a separate trade, and do so in the same day, within the span of a few hours --
might've seemed too good to be true.
One report said the Johnson deal
hinged on whether Deron Williams re-signed with Brooklyn or not. We
held our breaths. But then
this report said no, the Nets wanted Johnson and
his $90 million contract (for reasons still beyond me) either way. We
let out a sigh of relief. But this is Atlanta. Surely, the first
report was right and the deal would fall through, leaving the least
charismatic "superstar" in sports today in the only city in
America that cares more about true superstars than titles. (Re: The
confounding popularity of one Vick, Michael that still plagues the fans of a team that boasts the younger, better Ryan, Matt.)
But
it appears that, yes, the Hawks have somehow, someway shed Johnson
just two years after giving him a bigger contract than LeBron during
the Summer of LeBron. Long, deep sigh of relief. He's gone. Just two
years into the dumbest deal in team history. He's gone. The Joe
Johnson Years were full of "This is it, baby!" No. 3-seed teases
only to be tempered by "How are we in a Game 7 with Milwaukee?"
reality checks. Over. The team is finally ready to test the Lottery
waters again and free up that sweet, sweet cap space.
Many
fanbases would look at how the Braves are still within earshot of the
playoffs and think, "Maybe this is the year." The same with the
now-annual NFL contenders in the Georgia Dome. Maybe, maybe,
maybe.
But we're a bit tired of maybes and false promises and
two hockey teams leaving. Tired of the Vicks, the Dominiques, the
Francoeurs who never quite deliver on this elusive promise that sells
so many jerseys. So we take more solace than we probably should in
trading away these bad contracts. We just love selling the farm to draft the
new
promise of a
Julio Jones, and putting on our Frank Wren hats to see
what it would take to swing a Zach Greinke deal. We scour the blogs
and rumor mills, salivating over the idea of, "Cool, Tony Gonzalez
in a Falcons uniform!"
And when we land Tony Gonzalez?
This is what we imagine hoisting the Lombardi Trophy feels like.
These are our triumphs. Small as this stuff is to the New Yorks and
Green Bays of the world, we Atlanta fans take what we can get.
No,
Monday wasn't too good to be true. Joe Johnson, nice a guy as he may
be, and Marvin Williams, nice a guy as I'm pretty sure he is, are
gone. Left are Josh Smith (for now), Al Horford (hopefully for a
while) and a bunch of expiring contracts, which means a lot of money
to throw at two of the NBA's biggest stars next offseason.
Will
Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul sign in Atlanta, giving the Hawks their own
version of the
Big 3 along with Smith and/or Horford? Probably
not.
But as Atlanta fans, we don't care to watch a team that
wins more than it loses only to know it won't get past Boston or
whoever in the playoffs once again. We saw that last year. Entertain
us. No, it's much more fun to count lottery balls and cap dollars,
dreaming of who might, just
might, come and deliver us to that title
we've only really heard about.
___
Kevin Jeffers is a copy editor for the Press-Register and sort of a big Atlanta fan.
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