Ivan Johnson became somewhat of a cult hero for many fans in Atlanta this season but he may not be back with the Hawks after the team declined the opportunity to extend him a qualifying offer for next season. By extending the offer the Hawks would have retained salary matching rights to Johnson who is now an unrestricted free agent and free to sign anywhere.
Johnson is but one of nine unrestricted free agents that played for the Hawks last season. Atlanta currently has six players under contract and has the rights to two draft picks John Jenkins and Mike Scott.
Ivan Johnson appeared in 56 games last season and finished with averages of 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. After coming to training camp as a long shot to make the team, Johnson did just that and became Atlanta's backup center for a stretch despite being only 6-foot-8.
However, Johnson played sparingly in the playoffs and now appears that he may not be in the team's future plans.
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