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All's Well That Ends Well
19th August, 2005 - 3:09 pm
Press Release - Gaining the services of their most talented free agent acquisition since Dikembe Mutombo
(’96), the Atlanta Hawks have obtained Joe Johnson from the Phoenix Suns for Boris Diaw and two conditional first round picks, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Billy Knight.
The high-flying Johnson, who begins his fifth NBA season in 2005-06, was one of the catalysts behind the resurgence of the Suns and their 62-20 record, which garnered the franchise’s first Pacific Division title since 1994-95. The 33-game improvement ranks as the third-best in league history.
“Joe has tremendous upside and provides our franchise with a player whose talents are worthy of All-Star consideration,” said Knight. “He has the versatility to play several positions for Coach (Mike) Woodson. Not only is Joe extremely gifted on the offensive end, his size on defense will give us a tremendous advantage against most teams. When you team him up with a combination of Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Al Harrington, Marvin Williams, Salim Stoudamire and Zaza Pachulia, we feel we have one of the best up-and-coming rosters in the league.
“I also want to express my appreciation to all who had a hand in getting Joe to Atlanta. The faith and confidence shown by our ownership group will never be forgotten, and the cooperation shown by Suns management, and Joe and his agent Arn Tellem spoke volumes to me. They have been unbelievable through this whole process and words can’t explain how grateful we are to them for their character and integrity through it all, for all of them sticking to their word and backing us up all the way