Apparently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are taking a page out of the Los Angeles Lakers' "How To Make A Wrong Pitch" to free agents.
Joe Johnson, who received his buyout from the Brooklyn Nets last month, seemed like a perfect fit to join LeBron James and chase a ring with his career winding down.
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But the 35-year-old surprisingly chose the Miami Heat instead, preferring the opportunity to light up the scoreboard more often, as opposed to lighting things up with some championship bling, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"While the Cavaliers made a pitch through James, Johnson said after Friday's practice that he wanted to be more than a rental piece," Johnson told the Sun-Sentinel. "So he took the Heat, who made their pitch as a potential longer-term alignment."
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"Because it's late in my career, man. I'll be 35 this year," Johnson said. "And I just was looking more for some type of security, not necessarily a verbal commitment or anything like that, but somewhere where I could really play and still come out and enjoy the game."
The Lakers famously lost out on free agent LaMarcus Aldridge last summer because they also made the wrong pitch to him, talking about his off-the-court marketing potential than basketball x's and o's.
So far, Johnson is averaging 15.5 points in 10 games for the Heat, who have gone 7-3 since his arrival, including a 109-106 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night.
It's a good bet that Johnson's scoring average would not be as high if he were with the Cavaliers.
"Johnson said the up-tempo approach sold by the Heat, as opposed to James half-court-oriented style, was another attraction," the Sun-Sentinel added.
"Style of play was probably the biggest difference," he said. "They told me they wanted to get up and down the floor and run, and I mean it enticed me. I thought it was the best fit."
Johnson likely would have been the fourth option behind James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Amazingly Joe Johnson may have made the right choice in rejecting the more talented but dysfunctional group in Cleveland.
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