Joe Johnson as a free agent and his New York visit

[HMFFL]

Joe Johnson signed a six-year, $123.7 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks in 2010, but seriously considered the New York Knicks.

“Almost. Almost,” Johnson recalled of the Knicks’ contention. “The Knicks were the first team I met with.”

Johnson met with Mike D'Antoni, Allan Houston and James Dolan.

“We all met and talked and they had a great presentation. It was impressive. You know what threw me off more than anything?” Johnson asked. “Obviously there was the money difference, but they said, ‘You needed a place in Westchester and you needed a place in the city.’ They said you would roughly spend like $5 million.

“I was like, ‘aw, no,’ as opposed to being in Atlanta where I was already established with a solid team that was getting better every year. And I didn’t have to buy nothing or make any changes, and we had the arena and the practice facility in one place. It took me roughly 20 minutes with traffic to get there. Oh no. So then I never even imagined being in New York.”

D'Antoni isn't sure if the Knicks actually told Johnson that.

“I don’t know if we told him that,” D’Antoni said. “But he could afford it anyway. Obviously he made his choice, and for Atlanta, he was great.” http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... tside-City

[Hawk Eye]

Good read. It's crazy how much the cost of living is in New York. If a player signed with the Knicks their cost of living has to be higher there than any other team he would sign with right? LA seems like it would have a high cost of living as well.

[HMFFL]

I enjoy stories like these very much due to the insight it provides.
We may only get bits and pieces, but it's still nice.
Yeah, LA cost a good amount, but is the most. Having to have two homes would be a big turnoff for me, like it was for Joe, but I guess many players don't mind it.

[atlantabbq99]

Rent is higher in New York, but everything else is about the same. But if you are a millionaire and you buy and do not rent, you actually make money.

Seems like Joe is more concern about the traffic situation, which i agree, is pretty bad in New York.

[MaceCase]

Funny thing is I think the Nets still practice in New Jersey despite playing in Brooklyn so somehow he's managing the commute (though the joke he made before was that Kidd didn't run practices regardless). Gives a lil more insight into where Joe's mind is though, the difference of a Bird max and the New York offer was one thing but having to additionally come out of his own pocket despite already banking close to 80 million already? Naw, not happening.