[sweatypickle]

Originally Posted by Vagrant

The Kings and Johnson alike would be daft to try to get a deal done right now because one side is going to end up not liking the contract in the very near future. Johnson is coming off a season where he didn't really play to his offensive potential but had an improved defensive game. They have a new coach coming in to evaluate what he has in Johnson and how he will be used. Johnson has had a fairly poor preseason and they need to figure out if he's in the long term plans there with some really nice prospects like Hickey, Doughty, and Tuebert.

If he explodes and scores 40-50 points this year and signs a contract in November for $3.5 million for 5 years then he's going to hate himself for signing low. If he signs for $3.5 million for 5 years and puts up an exact replica of last season then the Kings are going to hate the deal with all the defensive depth they have coming up through the system that wouldn't command that high of a premium and could do the job just about the same.

The production to skill ratio is skewed right now with Johnson and nobody likes to sign contracts in the middle of that identity crisis and that includes agents and teams alike. I would imagine that signing Johnson is on the the "to do" list as one of the first priorities next offseason but any time before then is a tremendous leap of faith by one side in my estimation.

As for the Kopitar deal, until the terms are revealed it's a fantastic sign. Provided they didn't pay more than $7 million per season over the long term then it remains a fantastic sign. He's going to keep getting better and if there are any pieces in LA that should be built around it's Brown and Kopitar.

just sign J-Bow...