Joe Johnson has been a bit of a puzzle to most Phoenix
Suns fans ever since the Suns traded Rodney Rodgers and Tony Delk to the Celtics
for him. Most people were confused about the trade from day one, wondering why
a pretty good team would trade away their best role players. Who is Joe Johnson?
When Joe Johnson left Arkansas, the last thing anybody questioned was his ability.
Scouts compared him to Penny Hardaway - versatile. Joe is a big guard at 6'8 and
233 pounds. He can play any position from the One to the Three on a nightly basis.
He is a sound ball-handler, pure shooter, he can post up and defend.
The main reason Joe was trade bait in the first place was his knack for drifting
in games. At times, he'll pull off a crossover or a nice pass and you will swear
he will be an All-star in no time. Other times, he drifts throughout an entire
game and puts up Jacque Vaughn type numbers.
Recently Johnson is playing well, with a twenty point outing against Dallas and
a nineteen point game against New Orleans. And, the kid is still only 21. Wing
players have a tendency to grow at a slower rate then bigger players like centers
and power forwards. Kobe and T-Mac didn't start putting up double digit numbers
until they were in their third year and around Johnson's age. Joe won't be as
good as they've become, but he's definitely on the rise.
InsideHoops.com is the online leader in professional basketball coverage.
