Sources confirmed to The Post Saturday night that, with the start of NBA free agency just hours away, the Nets and Hawks have had talks about a possible trade for All-Star swingman Joe Johnson.
The trade would likely only be made with the blessing of superstar point guard Deron Williams, who becomes a free agent at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and who the Nets have done all they possible could to convince him to be the face of the franchise as it moves to Brooklyn and its new arena, Barclays Center, this fall.
The trade talks, which were first reported by Yahoo! Sports, would involve the Nets’ several expiring contracts – which add up to roughly $12 million dollars – going to Atlanta. In addition to Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro and Jordan Williams, Jordan Farmar officially opted into the final year of his contract, worth $4.25 million, before last night’s midnight deadline. The Nets could possibly have to sign-and-trade one of their free agents, as well, to make the deal work within the NBA’s salary cap rules.
Relationships on both sides could help make such a deal happen. Farmar and Johnson share the same high-powered agent, Arn Tellem, while Nets general manager Billy King and newly hired Hawks general manager Danny Ferry were teammates at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.
Johnson won’t come cheap, however. The six-time All-Star, who averaged 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists last season for Atlanta, is owed about $89.3 million over the next four seasons.
tbontemps@nypost.com