With Al Jefferson on board do Jazz match for Mathews

[finnegan]

I say yes. Just over pay him for one year, and pay the $1 million luxury tax.

The cheaper options make the Jazz worse.

[BarneyGumble]

Someone already made a post about this.

[HolyToledo]

1 could go wither way: If the owner is hurting for money then let him go if not then resign him.

Pros to matching: Good defensive player and decent shooter and trusted by SLoan. It allows AK-47 to come off the bench and back up both forward positions and gives jazz a good bench. His contract is bad and requires the Jazz to pay for one more year but ak-47 off books at seasons end whereby he can resign for a more reasonable contract.

Cons: Over-paid and can be replaced by cheaper version in Ronnie Brewer or other available player. Miles can play SG with AK-47 at small forward. Bench is weakened by someone like Rasual butler can be signed at a much cheaper price.

[StocktonShorts]

I say yes. Just over pay him for one year, and pay the $1 million luxury tax.

It's NOT overpaying him for just one year, at least not as far as the cap goes. As I posted in the other thread, the cap hit gets progressively worse as the contract goes on, reaching about $7M/year in years 4 and 5 of his deal.

[erudite23]

In a summer of terrible contracts, Matthews might just be the worst of the bunch. Only one that I can think of as being close is the dude that Toronto just way overpaid (can't recall his name right now). I mean, Matthews is ok, but he doesn't show a lot of upside and he was just paid like a guy who is an upper tier starter, and hasn't even shown that he belongs for sure. This deal reminds me of the one that the Mavs gave Marquis Daniels after he had a solid playoff run. He was undrafted as well and on a one year deal, and they gave him their full MLE. Then started trying to unload him before the ink was dry. Its a shame, since Wes was one of the highlights of the year, and for a cheap price tag I would have loved watching him establish himself in the league. But there is very little upside to this deal and a ton of downside. No effing way do we match.

[finnegan]

Matthews is ok, but he doesn't show a lot of upside and he was just paid like a guy who is an upper tier starter, and hasn't even shown that he belongs for sure.

He showed enough potential to start as a rookie. I think it usually takes 2-3 years to see how good someone is going to be (i.e. Deron Williams).

On one hand, Jazz may regret losing him as he improves even more after leaving the Jazz (i.e., Mo Williams).

On the other hand, I do wish it was a 3-year contract instead of a 5-year, in case he doesn't work out. That being said, he would still seem to be fairly tradeable after the first year is over, as his contract becomes much more in line with his value without the first year bonus payment of approximately $4 million.

[carrottop12]

I say yes. Just over pay him for one year, and pay the $1 million luxury tax.

The cheaper options make the Jazz worse.

$1 million luxury tax?

If the Jazz match there is a dollar for dollar penalty. Meaning his 5 million dollar salary costs the Jazz an additional $5 million this year alone. That puts him up at a 5 year 39 million dollar salary which he definitely isn't worth.

I know he played more SG in our system (even though the two wing spots are interchangeable) but honestly he isn't a ball handler, and he isn't a shot creator, and personally from the wing position I want my guys to be able to do both. AK, CJ and now Hayward are all better ball handlers and shot creators than Matthews is, and two of the three are younger and cheaper. Even if we were to retain Matthews I would hope that eventually our starting wing rotation was a combo of AK/Hayward/Miles with the odd man out teaming up with Matthews off of the bench. All three of the other guys are bigger and longer, and are more versatile offensively.

Going along with that, if we are going to be dedicating 6-7 million dollars over the next 5 years to a player, I would rather it go to Kirilenko next off season which gives the Jazz a lot more flexibility both offensively and defensively, while still having a good amount of money to chase free agents next year.

Plain and simple the MLE is just too much for a player of Matthews caliber, and small market teams don't win by over paying role players.

Al Harrington, Mike Miller, Drew Gooden etc. are MLE guys. Wes Matthews isn't that caliber of a player, and honestly I don't see him getting to that level.

[The59Sound]

Drew Gooden is most certainly NOT an MLE-caliber player. I agree with your premise that it's too much for Matthews, but I would pay it to him before giving it to any of the three players you cited.

[StocktonShorts]

if we are going to be dedicating 6-7 million dollars over the next 5 years to a player, I would rather it go to Kirilenko next off season which gives the Jazz a lot more flexibility both offensively and defensively, while still having a good amount of money to chase free agents next year.

This.

I really think it comes down to AK vs. Wes. If the Jazz match Wesley, it means they'll definitely be looking to trade AK at the deadline in the hopes of reducing their tax bill. And if they fail to trade him they won't be re-signing him.

A couple of days ago I said the Jazz probably should match Matthews, but (as with many things this week) I've changed my mind: he's not worth the money and I'd rather have a better shot at keeping AK.

[The59Sound]

I tend to agree with HP. I was strongly in favor of matching Matthews earlier this week, but as tough as it is to let go of a guy who works so hard and has the perfect skills for our team, not matching gives us greater flexibility moving forward. Plus, if we use our MLE on someone else, we won't have any of this up-front bonus nonsense (in addition to the satisfaction of saddling Portland with one of the more idiotic contracts I can recall).

[finnegan]

$1 million luxury tax?

I have to admit that I am basing my opinion on quite a bit of hearsay. However; David Locke supposedly has a google sheet showing that the Jazz would pay just over $1 million in luxury tax this year, with the addition of Al Jefferson and matching Wesley Mathews.

To me I'm more concerned about the Jazz contending for the 2 or 3 spot than the Miller's having to pony up a little bit, as long as it doesn't hurt cap space. If Kirilenko resigns in the $5-$6 million range next year, then keeping Mathews does not seem to affect our long term flexibility.

If it were true that we have to choose between Kirilenko and Mathews, then Kirilenko is the hands down winner. So if you have information on this, I would be really interested in hearing why we woukld have to choose between the two. But it appear (from Locke's spreadsheet) that the penalty for keeping Matthews is less in terms of its affect on cap space/luxury tax, but more of a financial penanlty to the Millers in having to pay the $4 million bonus in the next few weeks. IMHO if they want to compete in the NBA, then they need to make some sacrifices every once in a while.

That being said, I trust the Jazz management staff will do the right thing as there are many factors involved in this type of decision.

[finnegan]

As a side note:

1) If Raja Bell is a low cost option, then Mathews becomes more expendable, because Raja has offense and defense like Mathews.
2) Brewer is less of an option for me, especially with the serious injury.

[carrottop12]

$1 million luxury tax?

I have to admit that I am basing my opinion on quite a bit of hearsay. However; David Locke supposedly has a google sheet showing that the Jazz would pay just over $1 million in luxury tax this year, with the addition of Al Jefferson and matching Wesley Mathews.

To me I'm more concerned about the Jazz contending for the 2 or 3 spot than the Miller's having to pony up a little bit, as long as it doesn't hurt cap space. If Kirilenko resigns in the $5-$6 million range next year, then keeping Mathews does not seem to affect our long term flexibility.

If it were true that we have to choose between Kirilenko and Mathews, then Kirilenko is the hands down winner. So if you have information on this, I would be really interested in hearing why we woukld have to choose between the two. But it appear (from Locke's spreadsheet) that the penalty for keeping Matthews is less in terms of its affect on cap space/luxury tax, but more of a financial penanlty to the Millers in having to pay the $4 million bonus in the next few weeks. IMHO if they want to compete in the NBA, then they need to make some sacrifices every once in a while.

That being said, I trust the Jazz management staff will do the right thing as there are many factors involved in this type of decision.

First. Every dollar you go over the luxury tax you have to pay a dollar for dollar penalty. Right now, the Jazz are right at the luxury tax line so every additional dollar they spend costs them double. 5 million for Matthews will end up costing Miller 10 million. It won't happen.

I am also for contending over the Millers saving money, but they own the team and I don't, and they aren't going crazy spending money on a role player 2 guard.

We don't HAVE to choose between the two, but if we do have to, I take AK every time. And considering they are both hustle players/defensive studs they are competing for some of the same minutes. AK>Matthews. The Jazz won't resign both.

[finnegan]

These numbers are way rough, but it appears that Bat is correct in stating that the Jazz are already in the luxury tax:

Andrei Kirilenko $17,913,100
Deron Williams $15,013,400
Al Jefferson $13,062,200
Mehmet Okur $9,999,900
Paul Millsap $7,642,200
CJ Miles $3,712,700
Gordon Hayward $2,357,700
Ronnie Price $1,382,100
Sundiata Gaines $758,800
Othyus Jeffers $758,800
$72,600,900

So depending on what the precise number is, there certainly is a breaking point where I wouldn't expect the Miller's to have to pay.

[Matt007b]

Matthews is smart as far as getting the big paycheck for the next 5 years but ... I wouldn't be thrilled about playing behind Roy, going from starter to off the bench. Not the best career idea. I know portland fans think he can play/defend point guard/small forward/shooting guard and mix up the lineup but I don't see it happening.

Wish him well though but I just don't see us matching.

[Bskey]

Matthews is smart as far as getting the big paycheck for the next 5 years but ... I wouldn't be thrilled about playing behind Roy, going from starter to off the bench. Not the best career idea. I know portland fans think he can play/defend point guard/small forward/shooting guard and mix up the lineup but I don't see it happening.

Wish him well though but I just don't see us matching.

Well, it's likely he could be seeing 25+ minutes in Portland. We don't really have a back up small forward at the moment other than Luke Babbitt, which means unless Luke can prove he belongs from day 1 Roy will probably see some time at SF. During those moments are when Wes Mathews can really be effective for Portland.

As for his defense, he could guard Shaq and it would seem like and upgrade over whatever Rudy was guarding. (Rudy in all likely hood will not be a Blazer to start the year). So between Roy's resting and his probable stints and SF Wes should see enough playing time. If Rudy can get 20-25 a game playing horrible Wes shouldn't have much trouble.

When he's in, all likely hood is he'll be guarding 2's like he should. We have Batum to stick on the best player (he's done a good job on everyone from your own DWill to Dirk Nowitzki) and if that best player happens to be a 2 then he and Batum can split the duty.

Wes Mathews will be very overpaid, but he's filling 2 major needs for Portland so they wanted to make sure Utah wont match. And I know hearing this is old but Paul Allen really doesn't mind paying luxury, and since Portland will have no cap room anyways he just went for it.

[hype_2004]

Matthews is smart as far as getting the big paycheck for the next 5 years but ... I wouldn't be thrilled about playing behind Roy, going from starter to off the bench. Not the best career idea. I know portland fans think he can play/defend point guard/small forward/shooting guard and mix up the lineup but I don't see it happening.

Wish him well though but I just don't see us matching.

You wouldn't be thrilled about getting 34 mil for 5 yrs ? You can sit me from the end of the bench, grab towels and gatorade for the next 5 years @ 34 million and I'll be the best damn towel boy in the NBA. Sometimes peeps here have to take things into perspective, money is the bottom-line in the NBA as it is in everyday life. Matthews don't care whether he becomes a star or plays well enough to contribute to the Blazers fact of the matter remains is that he got paid and paid good.

[Matt007b]

ha.. well of course both of us would love to sit around and serve towels and gatorade for $34 million dollars of course. No he should be totally happy about this contract.

No, what I meant was - the *next* contract after this..let's say his career is oo..10 years long..he's not going to make starter bucks if he sits or comes off the bench for 10-20 min. a game behind roy for example. If I was his agent sure i'd be really happy now but long term I'd be worried getting buried in Portland. Basically the same reason Milsap is ready to take over starter minutes..not because he wants to run around for 40 min. a game but because he wants that starter $$$$ contract when his is due basically. (that's what I meant)

Matthews was a starter with the Jazz, with nobody to compete for his job, now he goes to the Blazers who have Roy, that's my concern is he will get buried or not work out at all long term.

**but yeah sign me up for matthews contract.. I need work.. and money

[Denizfeital]

I think Matthews did what he (or his agent) thought it would be the right think. Think about it. 34 million dollars. Its more money than he will need for the rest of his life. We know that money comes and goes, specially huge amount of it (there are plenty of cases like that).

If I were him, I d have signed that offer sheet, no question about it. Would he have more success playing for The Jazz his entire career? Probably.

But its a tough choice to make. For an undrafted kid, he did the right thing.

I still would love if The Jazz matched the offer, but it might not worth the money for The Jazz.

Regards.

[Hikari]

I really wonder who decided to offer Wes this contract with Portland being without a GM.