Plan B will be presented before Plan A.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni are finalizing plans to meet with Hawks free agent Joe Johnson in Los Angeles on Wednesday at midnight — 9 p.m. California time — when free agency officially begins before flying to Ohio for the LeBron James pow-wow.
The Knicks have long considered Johnson a maximum-contract player and they conceivably could try to get a commitment from him and taking that information to James on Thursday.
Johnson is said to be holding all his free-agent meetings in Los Angeles, home of his agent, Arn Tellem.
“Nothing has been scheduled,” Tellem said.
Even crazier, the Knicks reportedly were trying to fit in Amar’e Stoudemire that evening, too, in Los Angeles, but Stoudemire’s camp denied the report.
Johnson, who struggled during two rounds of the playoffs, has long been a D’Antoni favorite and the thinking is a Johnson/James pairing is just as much a home run as James/Chris Bosh. The Knicks may have gotten vibes Bosh is likelier to consider Miami.
If the Knicks strike out with both James and Bosh, D’Antoni also is excited about linking Johnson and Stoudemire with cap room to offer them two maximum contracts. Both are former Suns who played for him in Phoenix.
If Johnson leaves Atlanta, it’s been speculated for months Johnson would want to reunite with D’Antoni. Factor in Tellem, who is close to Walsh and the agent of Danilo Gallinari.
Johnson-Stoudemire always has seemed a likelier pairing than either James-Bosh. But they may need to work out sign-and-trades with Atlanta and Phoenix, respectively.
During February’s All-Star weekend in Dallas, Johnson told The Post, “[Mike and I] have got a great relationship. He gave me a chance to shine and become the player I am today. I love him, so I would visit.”
The status of Stoudemire is more perplexing. He played for D’Antoni, but rumblings are he grumbled behind the coach’s back about the Suns’ defensive shortcomings. Stoudemire spent part of his childhood growing up in upstate Newburgh and has a definite affection for New York, according to a source. However, a source said the extra year Phoenix can provide is huge in Stoudemire’s thinking.
Wade, expected to stay in Miami, and Bosh reportedly have agreed to recruiting visits to New York but they could be courtesy calls. In fact, Wade will first try to get Bosh to play with him in Miami, not New York. Wade and Bosh have the same agent.
‘Miami is in top contention,” Bosh told the Miami Herald. “With the money they have, the cap space they have, the rights on Dwyane [Wade], him possibly staying. And just having a good organization; they are known as a first-class organization.”