Before this year's NBA campaign got underway, many question marks were surrounding the future of Joe Johnson in Atlanta, after all, it was the last year of his contract before hitting the free agent market. Where as many Hawks fans figured the explosive off-guard could very well stay in Georgia past 2010, things have changed dramatically over the past few weeks.

Not only were the Atlanta Hawks swept in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after an awful series versus the Orlando Magic, but also ran into serious problems regarding franchise cornerstone Joe Johnson and their fan base. More precisely, Johnson stated that he could not care less if fans showed up for the Hawks' playoff games and was subsequently booed in the last two home games of the series. Thus, everything points to the departure of the former All-Star in the off-season, yet it remains to be seen where he might end up.

According to Johnson himself, he would like to play with Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat, however, the Heat will most likely be looking to acquire the services of either LeBron James or Chris Bosh before considering the shooting guard from Atlanta. Another issue will be whether anyone is going to offer a maximum contract since Johnson failed to prove that he is capable of performing in the postseason and help his team to make a playoff run. Moreover, there are only a few teams under the cap which makes a sign-and-trade scenario fairly likely. Among other teams, the Dallas Mavericks have expressed their interest and could possibly offer the instantaneously expiring contract of Erick Dampier as well as a combination of cash, draft picks and promising rookie guard Rodrigue Beaubois. Ultimately, the market will determine Johnson's value and it remains to be seen which teams are still able to take on a huge chunk of payroll after premier free agents such as Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Amar'e Stoudemire are gone.

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