Report: Joe Johnson opposed to buyout, hoping to re-sign with Nets
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There are myriad reasons why a veteran who has yet to win a championship would want out of Brooklyn immediately, and yet none of them apparently apply to Joe Johnson.
The 34-year-old, who is a natural buyout candidate in the final year of a mammoth contract that pays him nearly $25 million this season, is reportedly interested in staying put.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are interested in Johnson, not only believe the 15-year veteran wants to stay in Brooklyn for the remainder of the season, but that Iso Joe will seek a multi-year extension with the Nets.
Whether the Nets would be open to such an extension is another matter. Brooklyn (14-40) sits in the league's bottom three, has few young players to move forward with, and doesn't control its own first-round draft pick until 2019.
Johnson is averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on an effective field-goal percentage of 47.1 in nearly 34 minutes per game.
Johnson, a seven-time All-Star, has played in over 1,100 career regular-season games and 87 playoff games, but has never appeared in the NBA Finals.