Joe Johnson spent a brief time in Boston to start his NBA career, but beyond that, hasn’t played in a major market.
The Hawks star hails from Little Rock, Ark., went to college at Arkansas and has spent almost his entire NBA tenure in the mid-level cities of Phoenix and Atlanta.
This summer, though, Johnson has a chance to head to the big time, as he could very well be a Knick free-agent target.
Question is, would the All-Star guard be comfortable in a major town like New York?
He insists he would be.
“Yeah, definitely,” Johnson said last night before posting 22 points, five assists and four rebounds in the Knicks’ dramatic 99-98 win over his Hawks at the Garden.
“It’s nothing but basketball. I’ve been playing this game pretty much my whole life. I could care less where I’m at. I’m going to give you what I’ve got.”
Indeed, Johnson certainly was comfortable playing at MSG. He raved about Madison Square Garden in postgame, praising its significance.
“It is the Mecca of basketball,” he said. “It has so much history, and everybody I think really gets geared up to come and put on a good performance.”
The soft-spoken Johnson isn’t as charismatic as fellow free agents-to-be LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — and talent-wise, he’s probably be the fourth-best free agent this summer behind James, Wade and Chris Bosh.
Johnson swore yesterday he doesn’t know what his top choice is or whether he sees himself back with the Hawks — but one of his biggest priorities will be being with a team that can win.
In his first two seasons with Atlanta in 2005-06 and 2006-07, Johnson starred, but the Hawks went 26-56 and 30-52. The last two years, though, they’ve made the playoffs, and have now emerged as one of the East’s best teams.
Johnson, a four-time All-Star, insisted he wouldn’t be able to go to a losing team next year — not at age 29.
“I can’t backtrack,” he said. “My first two years here were very tough and frustrating. But we’ve overcome that. It was still early in my career. Now it’s a little later. I can’t do that.”
Johnson is connected with the Knicks in multiple ways. His agent, Arn Tellem, is tight with Knicks president Donnie Walsh. And his former coach, Mike D’Antoni, patrols the Knicks sidelines.
Both Johnson and D’Antoni have gushed about the other, and on Sunday D’Antoni raved that coaching Johnson was “the best.”
Johnson said yesterday that his next coach will matter in his search, saying of D’Antoni, “We’ve got great history together.”
One of Johnson’s teammates, Jamal Crawford, played with the Knicks, and while Crawford said he isn’t sure what Johnson will do this summer, he also insisted he’s capable of succeeding in New York.
Crawford said, “I think he’s good enough to work anywhere. He’s very laid back.”
Johnson admitted it “definitely” will require two players to fix the Knicks, and obviously the Knicks are in position to add two marquee players this summer. Still, when asked if having enough cap space for two players made the Knicks more alluring, Johnson’s answer suggested he hadn’t given it much thought.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe so. For a guy who really is considering coming here, maybe he would like for them to have another player. That would attract his interest. But I don’t know. It’s going to be a tough decision.”