Looking out for #1: Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion

Joe Johnson was here the other night.  He didn’t play very well.  Grant Hill saw to that, forcing him into a horrific 4-21 shooting night that essentially erased any chance the Hawks had of coming out with a win.  What struck me as odd wasn’t so much Johnson’s off shooting night (Grant Hill has been a revelation on the defensive end as of late) but the insistence of a few Suns fans on booing their former player.

For a quick reminder on how and why Johnson left for Atlanta, revisit Marc Stein’s breakdown.  Here’s the jist of it:

• Johnson has a breakout season, shooting 48% (that’s not a misprint) from beyond the arc, and ably running the point for Mike D’Antoni while Steve Nash rests
• Johnson and the Suns cannot come to an agreement on an extension during the season, with a $5 million difference between the sides bringing negotiations to a stalemate
• Johnson, rankled with his treatment by Suns management, cites a wish to play a leading role elsewhere, and declines the Suns offer of $60 million for 6 years

The last point is no doubt what caused a number of  Suns fans too boo Joe Johnson his first couple visits back to the Valley.  The convenient way of looking at things is to think he put his own interests over the franchise, or in other words, he took the money and ran.

This is hardly an infrequent occurrence in the sports world though.  Every year an athlete holds out for more money, complains about his contract, or demands a trade after feeling slighted or unappreciated.  Much like the rest of us, athletes frequently look out for #1.

Despite the hypocrisy involved, I can understand the booing fan in this case, at least to a certain extent.  We expect our athletes to put us ahead of them.  This is of course ridiculous, but that’s what makes us fans.

What I don’t understand are the boos Suns fans have rained on Joe Johnson in the past, and the boos he heard a bit of last night.  Here’s a guy the franchise traded for as part of a rebuilding plan, a player who helped make that plan a success.  He’s an athlete that laid it all on the line for his team and went about his business in a professional manner, working hard every step of the way.  He didn’t throw a towel in his coach’s face, get arrested for DUI, or punch his wife in the mouth.

This isn’t a player we should be booing.

He put himself and his earnings ahead of the franchise, but was he incorrect in making these demands and thinking so highly of himself?  In his time in Atlanta, he’s shown to be a top guard in the Eastern Conference, a guy who should have the ball in his hands more often than not, someone the Hawks franchise can build around.  Joe Johnson wanted what was best for himself and it’s tough to fault him for it, because in the end, he knew exactly what it was and that he would be successful with it

This is in stark contrast to Shawn Marion, who didn’t know what was best.  In case you were wondering, he’s still in Miami, playing out the string on the last big contract he’ll ever sign.  His master plan of going elsewhere to be “the man” hasn’t worked out quite as well as Johnson’s, and come free agency, he’ll really see his decisions blow up in his face.

Marion’s exit from the Suns really wasn’t much different from Joe Johnson’s.  Unhappy, unappreciated, his feelings on playing third fiddle for the Suns weren’t good ones, and he eventually got himself moved out of town.

It was another case of an athlete looking out for his best interests, putting #1 above all else.  Again, it’s tough to argue with, but in Shawn’s case, I can’t help but wonder why he received an ovation from Suns fans rather than boos.

I think back to this game against Cleveland as a prime example of the worst of Shawn Marion.  Because he felt unappreciated in Phoenix, Marion shrunk into the shadows during a nationally televised game, attempting only four shots from the field in 34 minutes of play.  Yes, he had the unenviable task of guarding LeBron James, but he was a ghost that afternoon until the ball found him on the baseline with the clock winding down, and his afternoon-long game of hot potato was forced to stop as he attempted and made the game-winning shot.

Marion meant so very much to those Suns teams and this fanbase, but for whatever reason, he failed to see it.  As the frequency of his pouting grew, his behavior became tiresome enough to make a trade for Shaquille O’Neal seem palatable.

Shawn is an all-time Suns great, and as such, Suns fans seem to have given him the benefit of the doubt. I choose to do so for a different reason, and it’s because I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.  He listened to the wrong people and ended up with an inflated value of himself.

Marion isn’t a player with a great handle, the ability to take a defender off the dribble, or the touch to hit a 15 footer on a consistent basis.  Somewhere along the way, he forgot that what made him great was being able to do everything well, but not in spectacular fashion.

His decision to force his way out of Phoenix was one based on a reality created for him, where Joe Johnson’s was based on the reality of a light at the end of the tunnel, and the ability and confidence to actually reach it.

I’m not proposing Suns fans boo Shawn Marion for his past transgressions and failing to realize the grass isn’t always greener.  He deserves every ovation (and then some) he’ll ever receive in US Airways Center, especially the one that comes when his name is revealed in the Ring of Honor.  However, Suns fans should afford Joe Johnson the same respect, because after all, he isn’t a whole lot different than Shawn Marion, or for that matter, the rest of us.

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