Joe Johnson Makes a Promise

Following in Dan Gilbert’s much smaller footsteps, Atlanta Hawks regular season All-Star Joe Johnson wrote an open letter to the people of his city. As it became more and more evident that Joe Johnson would come out of the 2010 summer free agency frenzy as the player who signed for the most money—more than even LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, and David Lee—the Hawks swingman felt compelled to address his adoring fans and make the promises that are inherently associated with such a mammoth contract.

The following letter will appear in the Atlanta Journal Constitution at some point in the near future.

“People of Atlanta: in recent days I’ve heard rumors that some of ya’ll are not too thrilled about me being a member of the Hawks for another six years. And to some extent, I understand where ya’ll are coming from.

If I were a fan of the team, I wouldn’t really have wanted to welcome back a player who underperformed in the playoffs. I wouldn’t really have wanted to welcome back a player who failed to live up to his role as leader of the team. And I definitely wouldn’t really have wanted to welcome back a player who was disrespectful to his fan base at the end of the season. I understand that. I really do.

But forgiveness is a powerful thing. Look at how easily we’ve forgiven the transgressions of Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger in recent days. America is based on that concept because even when we make mistakes, we have the ability to pick ourselves up off the ground and try again.

I promise ya’ll, people of Atlanta, that I will become the leader that I was meant to be. I will become more than just an All-Star in the regular season.

When the Hawks offered me that six year contract for $119 million I realized that I really didn’t want to go anywhere else. Sure, no other team could offer me that much money, but the real reason I stayed was because my heart is in Atlanta.

Finally, the Hawks knew what they were doing when they offered me the contract. They knew that by signing me we were virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs for the next six years. Now, all we need to do is add a clutch player who can help us get past the first round. But, Hawks fan, I promise ya’ll that will come soon.

So support our team and buy season tickets to watch me play well during the regular season and let’s see if we can finish fourth in the Eastern Conference again this year!

-Joe Johnson”

Atlanta GM Rick Sund was later interviewed and said that he didn’t just sign Johnson to guarantee the Hawks the revenue from six more highly mediocre seasons and first round playoff exits. Unfortunately, the exact quote cannot be posted here because it was too interrupted by Sund’s nervous laughter. He refused to be attached to a lie detector so that the validity of his statement could be verified.