Should we match Wes Mathew's contract?

[jazzfan1971]

34/5 = 6.8

6.8 =/= 5

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

It depends on what our other options are. If we can get Brewer and another decent piece for the same money then I don't think we should. If he is your best option at the end of the day I think you have to despite overpaying for him.

Personally I would probably let him go and explore other options. I'm a huge Matthews fan but that is a bit too expensive for what he is and what he does.

He was great last season but you have to take into account that he came out of nowehere and none of the teams planned/scouted for him. It's the same knock on Millsap, how will he do when teams scout and plan against him? He won't be flying under the radar anymore and I don't know how he will fair when once he gets a lot more attention. If you sign him for that much money, you better be pretty sure he can make it as a starting 2 guard in the NBA.

[CarrKeefe]

If the Jazz can score an Al Harrington through one of their trade exceptions, I think he would be an upgrade over Matthews. But the choices are slim pickings. If the Jazz are going to let him walk they better have a plan to sign someone that will have an equal impact on the Jazz. And that's BOTH ends of the floor. Brewer can defend, but with his hamstring injury, he could have lost his explosiveness and then there's the mere fact that he has NO jumpshot. There was a reason why the Lakers didn't defend Brewer a couple years ago in the playoffs and double teamed Boozer inside. It's because they knew he couldn't hit a shot and they dared him to take one.

At the end of the day, sure it's front loaded, but after this year it averages out into a pretty decent affordable contract. If he can equal his production last year and get better, which he probably will since last year was his rookie year, I'd say match. But if we can get someone better or cheaper than can equal production on both ends of the floor, I say we don't match.

[StocktonShorts]

At the end of the day, sure it's front loaded, but after this year it averages out into a pretty decent affordable contract.

Actually no. Just like Millsap's deal there's a big initial CASH outlay because of the signing bonus, but for cap purposes that bonus is averaged over the life of the deal.

As fans I assume we're usually talking about the salary cap implications when we discuss salary. So Millsap's salary cap hit for the next three years looks like this:

2010-11: $7.6M
2011-12: $8.1M
2012-13: $8.6M

I'm guessing Matthews' contract is roughly $6.5M/year for the five years, with about $800k of that due to the signing bonus.

So if the Jazz match, the question is, does spending $14.5M/year on Matthews/Millsap > spending the same amount on Boozer?

After giving this a lot of thought, I think the Jazz should match, for the following reasons:

1) They still need to be competitive next season, and their options for filling out the roster are looking slim. I'd rather pay $6.5M to Matthews than Harrington, and I think Jerry Sloan would agree.

2) The salary cap isn't going down, and while we may see a lockout next summer, we won't see the sort of drastic changes to the CBA the owners were clamoring for earlier -- not after they severely compromised their negotiating position with another ridiculous spending spree of an off-season.

3) I'm not sure you can keep Deron Williams around by accumulating cap-space. We saw what happened to New Jersey this summer. They cleared a ton of cap-space and their marquee signing? Travis Outlaw. I'd rather have Matthews (and so would Portland it seems). You think Utah will fare better in free agency than New Jersey?

[DFO]

Nyet.

Decent defender. Decent shooter.

Can't create his own shot. Rarely gets to the FT line.

And hes older than CJ Miles.

[MeestR]

i dont have a problem with the amount of money. i have a problem with the amount of time. 5 years is an awful long time to commit to somebody who has only spent 1 year in the league. he's proven a lot, and i'de like to keep him. that amount for 2 or 3 years would have been great. but 5? eehhhh....

[HolyToledo]

easy choice dont match it as too expensive with little upside. Worst case scenario AK-47 plays SF and Miles plays SG wirh Hayward, Price, and jeffers serving as backups.