Marc Stein is reporting that the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks are on the verge of completing a sign and trade with restricted free agent, Joe Johnson.

The proposed deal, according to sources, would bring guard Boris Diaw and two lottery-protected future first-round picks to Phoenix -- along with a trade exception in the $5 million range -- after Johnson signs a contract under terms established by Atlanta: $70 million over five years with an estimated balloon payment of $20 million up front.

Johnson has agreed to sign a five-year/seventy million dollar contract with the Hawks.

After maintaining for weeks that it would match any offer sheet Johnson signs, Phoenix chose a new course this weekend, ultimately deciding it was better for team chemistry to pursue a sign-and-trade with Atlanta instead of investing huge sums in a player who wants to leave.

A report on Friday indicated that Joe Johnson told the Suns that he doesn't want them to match the offer sheet he signs with the Hawks.

But Johnson also said Friday to Toronto's "The Fan" radio station when asked whether Phoenix was the best scenario for him.

"Probably so, more than likely so," Johnson said before a long, deep breath. "It's going to be tough. It's going to be real tough. Hopefully, everything will work out like we want it."

His posturing may have more to do with ensuring that a five-year offer that may be worth almost $72 million (with $18 million up front) is still on the table Tuesday.

Those close to him said he was upset when Phoenix would not go up $5 million to meet his request for $50 million for six years last summer, when the Suns gave Quentin Richardson a six-year, $43.5 million deal.

He was further unsettled this month when Phoenix offered $60 million for six years and asked him to choose between it and the Atlanta offer at one point. That prompted his request to Sarver, who intends to match the Hawks' offer. He has a week to do so once Johnson signs Atlanta's offer.

"It's a lot of things," Johnson told ESPN.com when asked why he would want to leave Phoenix. "It's the way things were handled last summer, how things have been handled this summer. There's been some things going on that aren't great."

Steven Hunter, who showed much promise in his one year in Phoenix, is a free agent who is expected to make a decision this weekend about where he will play next year. He has narrowed his choices down to four teams - Dallas, New Jersey, Atlanta and Phoenix.

Hunter hopes to stay in Phoenix but could not get more than a one-year commitment for the minimum exception ($1.7 million) plus an option year from the team.

The 7-foot center is looking for a four or five-year deal and could end up with the Mavericks.

Joe Johnson told ESPN.com Friday that he wants Phoenix to let him go to Atlanta.

ESPN.com reported that Johnson told Suns managing owner Robert Sarver this week that he would rather Phoenix not match the Hawks' five-year, $70 million offer sheet. He can sign the offer Tuesday, leaving the Suns a week to match and retain him.

Johnson told ESPN.com that the Suns still plan to match the offer, although a sign and trade could develop and would not have to match in salaries because Atlanta has cap room.

Johnson spoke out while in Toronto for Steve Nash's charity game.

"It's a lot of things," Johnson told ESPN.com. "How things were handled last summer (Sarver declined to give him $50 million for six years), how things have been handled this summer (Phoenix offered $60 million for six years). There's been some things going on that aren't great."

Johnson has not returned calls and canceled an early July meeting. His distaste for Phoenix is well known, according to other teams' officials. Talks turned nastier last week.

Reports are beginning to come in that Joe Johnson intends to sign an offer sheet from the Atlanta Hawks.

Johnson is a restricted free agent and the Suns will have seven days to match.

The Suns have made a series of moves this offseason which indicate that they intend to match any deal Johnson receives.

After acquiring Kurt Thomas from the Knicks, the Phoenix Suns are looking to further add size and depth to their frontcourt. The Phoenix Suns are apparently set to sign unrestricted free agent forward Scott Padgett to a multi-year deal when contracts can be officially tendered next week.

The Suns can?t comment on any player transactions involving free agents until August 1st, but the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Padgett told Houston television station KRIV Thursday night that he is headed to Phoenix and is looking forward to playing with reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash.

A good shooter with good 3-point range for a big man, the 29-year-old Padgett just finished his sixth NBA season and second with the Rockets, averaging 4.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in about 14 minutes of playing time. He started four times in Houston?s loss to Dallas in the opening round of this year?s Western Conference playoffs, averaging 3.6 points.

Amare played too many minutes for the Suns last year in frontcourt that lacked depth. The Suns hope that Padgett can add some nice inside-outside skills to their team. He'll be a Restricted Free Agent in a 2007, where he can receive a Qualifying Offer, so the Suns continuously look to maintain a competitive team reflective of last year's spectacular Western Conference run, hoping Amare wouldn't jump ship.

On Wednesday the Suns agreed to send center Jake Voskuhl to the Charlotte Bobcats for a conditional second round pick, a Suns team souce said told Chad Ford.

The move clears $1.875 million off the cap for Phoenix. Suns owner Robert Sarver has charged Suns managment with finding a way to match Johnson's offer without incurring the luxury tax next season.

According to the same Suns source, the team still intends to match any offer for Johnson.

The Suns brimmed in June with as much confidence about re-signing Joe Johnson as they would about defending the Pacific Division title.

This week, a pool of rising, nervous energy is swallowing up America West Arena. Several Suns organization staffers and others close to Johnson say they believe Managing Partner Robert Sarver will not match Atlanta's five-year, $70 million offer sheet, which Johnson cannot sign until next week after the free-agency signing moratorium was extended again Monday.

Once he signs an offer sheet, Phoenix would have a week to decide between matching the deal and saying goodbye to Johnson, a restricted free agent. Others still believe Sarver will match, but it is clear to all that he is unsure.

The Suns carried a secret on their bench in the Vegas Summer League.

Phoenix has agreed to a two-year deal with Brazilian post player Lucas Tischer, a raw but athletically impressive talent.

Tischer, a muscular 6 feet 9 and 230 pounds, worked out for Phoenix before the draft and was considered a second-round pick by some. He went undrafted but joined Phoenix's summer team, which included Tischer's former junior national teammate Leandro Barbosa.

Tischer's agent, Herb Rudoy, did not return a message but his company's Web site announced Tischer's intentions Tuesday.

It is believed that the second year in Tischer's deal is a team option and there are first-year partial guarantees, such as those in second-round draftee Dijon Thompson's contract.

According to Eddie Sefko from the Dallas Morning News almost everybody talked about Michael Finley in the past tense Monday. But a certain former teammate was more than willing to present a here-and-now offer that may be tempting when Finley officially becomes an ex-Maverick, likely later this week.

Steve Nash said Finley would be a "great fit" for the Phoenix Suns, creating the possibility that two-third of the Mavericks' former Big Three could end up together again.

"It is strange to think of Mike not playing for Dallas," Nash said. "I think it would be a great fit for us. It would make us such a deep team."

A good portion of the NBA family was on hand at Finley's charity tournament at the Trophy Club benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Finley's agent, Henry Thomas, said more than 10 teams have shown an interest in acquiring Finley, were he to be waived by the Mavericks under terms of the amnesty clause in the new collective-bargaining agreement. Doing so would save owner Mark Cuban perhaps $51 million in luxury taxes over the next three seasons.

"If it happens, it happens," Finley said. "If it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm fine. I don't lose sleep over it. My life goes on. It's a business."