Motivation: Joe Johnson's Revenge

By:  Dan Barto, Director of Player Development at The Basketball Academy and The PTC

As the ATL's basketball bandwagon takes off like oil and gold the sub plots interest me the most. 

I have only watched Joe Johnson workout on the court once.  Sometimes that's all you need to determine a players focus.  He did not say a word throughout the warm up and then continued to put on a show for the following 45 minutes.  Just like last night's domination you could see his imagination and determination.  The creativity and the desire to succeed was evident.  There was not much laughing and nothing was at half speed. 

The reality isI took a special notice to this workout because I had heard the Joe Johnson stories.  Was it bitterness?  Was he just a comfortable max player?  The Hawks?  No leadership?  Well maybe he was just a snake in the grass. 

It took Mike getting cut in high school, 3 years of college, a bad injury, and six years of losing before his big jump.  Mentally he moved to a whole other level.  Could we be seeing the questions about Joe Johnson being answered in a similar manner? 

The story goes that after two tremendous seasons at Arkansas JJ entered the Celtic organization with high hopes of learning and using his southern upbringing to stay humble.  The bottom line is Joe Johnson's 48 games in Boston were long and scarring.  Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker were hitting there stride and Boston was on the rise.  Selecting a player with the 10th pick that played the same position as they did created a three man squeeze for playing time. 

Pierce a product of Inglewood, CA and Walker a product of Chicagoland played and practice with the only way you get out of those areas, attitude, aggressiveness and pride.  Many practice hours and plane rides; Joe Johnson was the recipient of their wrath.  Just like Michael Jordan was known for making practice and travel more competitive than the games, Walker and Pierce were storied to do the same.

After being shipped to Phoenix before the trading deadline, Johnson moved on and Walker and Pierce lead the Celtics back to the Eastern Conference leader board.  Pierce's and Walker's greatness can not be questioned and their tactics happen in every NBA franchise, however it seems now that someone with the size, speed, mindset and understanding of the game may have kept a diary of those days.  Young and impressionable men always are looking for mentors and role models, though Pierce and Walker may not have known what they were doing at the time they may have created a monster.

As the series goes on I can’t help but wonder what is going through JJ’s mind.