Via Sekou Smith of NBA.com (@SekouSmithNBA on Twitter):

Joe Johnson’s deal with the Hawks is done, per a source with knowledge of the negotiations. Knicks tried to change his mind but couldn’t.

Via Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix – John Gambadoro (@Gambo620 on Twitter):

Via Ken Berger CBSSports.com:

Joe Johnson will sit down for a second meeting with Hawks officials in Los Angeles Thursday and expects to make a decision on the team’s six-year, $120 million offer “in the near future,” his agent, Arn Tellem, told CBSSports.com.

“We met with the Hawks and Knicks [Wednesday] night and have heard a number of other teams with significant interest in Joe,” Tellem said in an email. “At this point, Joe has many great options to choose from. We plan to meet with the Hawks again [Thursday] to discuss the details of their offer and we hope to make a decision in the near future.”

In fact, one executive within the league said that perhaps the only reason Johnson has waited this long to commit to the Hawks is that he’s enjoying the recruiting process that so many of the top free agents have coveted.

“I don’t know what else he wants to hear,” the executive said. “If that’s not enough, then obviously he wants to go somewhere else. Do you want to go New York with $90 million or stay in Atlanta with $120 million and win?”

OUCH

Via Yahoo!:

The Atlanta Hawks offered Joe Johnson a six-year, $119 million contract Thursday morning, and sources close to the All-Star guard expect him to accept the max deal soon.

The Hawks moved quickly at midnight ET to try to secure their franchise star and offered the contract that Johnson’s agent Arn Tellem sought from the organization. Sources say ownership OK’d the max offer and general manager Rick Sund delivered it in Los Angeles.

Via Yahoo!:

The longer the weeks before free agency dragged out, sources say it’s become clearer to guard Joe Johnson that he truly wants to stay with the Atlanta Hawks.

Will the Hawks give Johnson a $119 million max contract over six years, or come close to it? It’s doubtful they will go the distance with a max offer, but that sixth guaranteed season is likely to be a difference-maker in keeping Johnson.

He’ll meet with the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls on Thursday, but sources insist those major markets don’t hold much of an appeal to him.

Earlier in the day the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported the the Hawks were going to offer Joe Johnson  a six-year contract for the maximum amount allowed.  While it is very possible that story was planted, he may indeed be afraid of the big bad city.  All the unnamed sources continue to dominate the NBA Free Agency whirlwind.  However, names will soon appear (we hope) as the clock strikes midnight.  What will Chris Broussard and Stephen A. Smith do without hiding under the blanket of anonymity?

Via NY Post:

Knicks Remain Confident

“We still think we’re in it,” a member of the Knicks’ brain trust said yesterday. “Our internal sources tell us we’re in it.”

“We’ve got planes going in different directions,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said. “Until we’re successful, I don’t feel good, bad or indifferent. But we’re ready to build back up our franchise.”

A source close to Johnson said he will not accept anything from the Hawks until he hears the Knicks’ pitch.

“He likes Atlanta, he’s interested in New York and has a relationship with Mike D’Antoni,” the source said. “He wants to hear what they have to say.”

“You can’t underestimate the power of putting great players and how other players will raise their games,” said Allan Houston, part of the Knicks’ recruiting team. “When you add leadership, you will see how the others rise. One thing I do know. People haven’t seen Toney [Douglas], Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] and Wilson [Chandler] play with great players.”

Via Yahoo:

Bosh & Friends

Raptor owner thinks Chris Bosh is out and will look to sign & trade possibilities:

Bryan Colangelo told a Toronto radio station he thinks Bosh “likely” will leave the team.

Sources said the Raptors will try to acquire draft picks and young players in return for Bosh. They would likely ask for forward Michael Beasley and point guard Mario Chalmers in any deal with the Miami Heat. If Bosh were to go to the Chicago Bulls, the Raptors like forward Taj Gibson and center Joakim Noah.  If Bosh settles on the New York Knicks, the Raptors would try to engage in a double sign-and-trade that sends Knicks forward David Lee to Toronto.  Sources called a potential sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Lakers “doubtful.”

Henry Thomas, agent to both Bosh and Wade admits the three (including LeBron James) have talked frequently:

Sources said Amar’e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson have also discussed various scenarios with their fellow free agents. Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony and New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul have joined the conversations, as well.

“That’s always been part of the decision,” (Agent Henry) Thomas said. “Obviously, Miami along with other teams, has a plan that they would like to execute. He’s going to listen to that plan and probably take the opportunity to listen to other plans.”  Thomas…said it’s possible Wade and Bosh could decide to meet with teams together.

James’ representative, Leon Rose, shares the same agency, CAA, as Thomas.

“It would be unrealistic to assume we won’t be having discussions about this,” Thomas said. “One of the things that will be to our advantage, that we will have, is information. We’re in the same company so information will be shared.”

Also Via Yahoo:

Amar’e Talk

Amar’e Stoudemire and his agent met for several hours with Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver on Tuesday night and gathered momentum on a possible contract extension, team sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Sources say the two sides are expected to resume talks on Wednesday, and Stoudemire is holding off opting out of the final $17.6 million season of his deal to make him a free agent.

Via Alan Hahn:

New York to Los Angeles tomorrow:

At 9:01 p.m. (Pacific time), when the NBA‘s free-agency season officially begins (12:01 a.m. ET) a call will be made to Johnson’s agent, Arn Tellem, to arrange an immediate meeting. Stoudemire, who is represented by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Happy Walters, could be included in the meeting or could be met with separately afterward.

Then on to Akron, Ohio Thursday:

1 p.m. (ET) meeting with LeBron James and his group of advisers

Then back to New York City Friday:

Chris Bosh in the afternoon and followed by Dwyane Wade in the evening.

Coincidentally, these meeting were set magically because teams cannot talk to free agents cause that’s tampering.

Via ESPN:

Sources close to the situation said Monday night that three of the biggest names in basketball — Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James — met over the weekend in Miami to seriously discuss their futures, with a focus on the increasingly plausible possibility of those three teaming up with Wade’s Heat.

Yet sources with knowledge of the meeting stressed to ESPN.com that James, while clearly intrigued by the possibility of forming a star-studded Miami trio with Wade and Bosh, has not yet committed to leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for South Beach.

Via Newsday’s Alan Hahn:

From the vibes I continue to get over the past several days, if the Knicks somehow still wind up signing LeBron James, it would be the greatest comeback in franchise history, surpassing even Nov. 18, 1972.

One of the many sources I’ve spoken with over the last week is a person who is closely-connected with one of the top free agents available and is privy to conversations among these top targets. The Knicks just don’t seem to be a preferred option.

“I think,” this person told me, “the Knicks are in big trouble.”

Here’s the best-case scenario right now: Johnson agrees in principle and the Knicks take that with them to Akron on Thursday afternoon to present LeBron with a supporting cast of two of the NBA’s top perimeter threats, Johnson and Danilo Gallinari, and a few bucks left over to get a decent 4 (won’t have enough cash left for David Lee). LeBron is so enamored by the Knicks’ effort and the billion-dollar potential in his connection with Madison Square Garden that he agrees to jet back to New York City that evening and take part in that exhaustively-planned dinner party after all.

Via CBS Sports Ken Berger:

The Knicks are believed to be continuing to explore moves that would clear the extra cap space to retain unrestricted free agent David Lee while adding two max free agents. The only move that would do it is almost impossible, according to one rival executive, but that doesn’t mean Knicks president Donnie Walsh won’t try: trading Eddy Curry and his $11.3 million contract. To do so, Walsh would have to incentivize another team that’s under the cap to take Curry. The price for such trouble would almost certainly be 2009 No. 8 pick Danilo Gallinari ($3.3 million). The problem would be that Gallo is the most attractive existing Knicks to prospective free agents. This might result in an unusual conversation in the Knicks’ recruiting visits with James and other free agents: Who would you rather play with, Gallinari or Lee?

Just Say No to Joe

@stevetarde Why would anyone think that Joe Johnson will make a difference?

@thetillshow I really do not want Joe Johnson as the best player on the Knicks

@americo185 neither I. If we coundn’t have Lebron, we should get wade or some player with that caliber

@JonFrat If Joe Johnson is the best player on the Knicks they’re in trouble. Joe Johnson is a good #2. Not worth a max contract.

Not a max guy, but not a bad piece to a larger puzzle either

@IsaiahHonorable I wouldn’t mind the knicks signing Joe Johnson but not for a max contact

@NYGreenMachine Hope this is part of a much bigger plan.

@TheSportsMole Johnson is a great player, but the worst of the top tier free-agents!

@speeddemon03 if we sign jj or anybody else they could become trade chips in bigger deals

Forget about LeBron James or Joe Johnson, think Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony

@Iron4Horse I think it’s time to forget about LeBron and work on getting 3 all-stars over next cpl of yrs. I want Chris Paul, not Johnson.

@edmondedantes I would prefer the Knicks trade for Beasley and/or Yi and try for CP3 and Carmelo next year. Resign Lee and keep the core!

@MistaBiqqDreamz think NY should go for Wade and Amare then Melo in 2011 #WishfulThinking

C’mon Knicks fans, let’s get real

@BobbyBroad lets be honest Knicks fans who else can we realistically get. Match him up with a quality big man and we have a nice team.

@rocboy11 Joe is better than Danilo and Wilson..I think we sign him and resign Lee plus Ray Felton

According to Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria on Twitter):

This feels taken out of context…like it is our priority to hit the West Coast first and then move eastward.