Matthews reaction

[The Sheik]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/14/port ... dnt-match/

I got to be honest Im calling bullsh^t on us never offering him. In a trib article it was said that his agent said it would take the full MLE to sign him. It pisses me off when athletes say "I would've considered taking less." There is no way Wes would've taken less than the MLE unless he struck out in the market and the Jazz were his last resort.

[ADWCTA]

I think he would have taken less than the MLE.

The question is whether he told Utah about Portland's offer before taking it.
If there was no discussion, Mathews made his choice and went w/ the $ regardless of which team he ends up on.

What Mathews was saying was that he thought Utah would immediately come at him with a 4mil offer with some sort of deadline to get him off the market. Utah wanted to see if they could save some money, and wound up having to replace a player who was perfect for the system. Not a great loss though, I'd hardly call Raja Bell a downgrade. Raja'll buy us 2 more seasons to look for his replacement (or hope Miles gets significantly better at any one aspect of his game).

[seejaydeja]

i believe what he says about not getting an offer. i swear i remember reading something where KOC played him the same way he played Sap and basically told him to go out and determine his market value

[BarneyGumble]

Matthews is a class act. He wouldnt lie about the Jazz not making an offer, and he probably would have signed whatever they put in front of him. Makes you wonder if he was truly a priority. My guess is the priority was getting Jefferson and they put Matthews on the backburner, not sure how much salary they'd have committed....

[tdownwa]

I thought I read somewhere that KOC said Matthews was option 1a behind Boozer. In the same article I thought that I read where KOC wanted to allow the market place set a value on Wes. I would guess that KOC and the Jazz didn't offer a new contract outside of the QO. Once Booz left and Portland set a high price for Wes, Im guessing the Jazz got serious on the rest of the moves we've seen. I for one am not shocked that KOC and the Jazz never gave Wes an offer. Had they offered 3-4 years for S15-20m and Portland came in with their offer then the Jazz look like they're full of it after saying to him that he is "option 1A".

I wonder if Wes is regretting signing Portland's offer sheet? Not because of the $$$ but because he knows his PT will drop and he's starting over again.

[jazz__stoner]

Oh sad... He wanted to be in Utah but made the wrong choice. He chose a hefty contract over a starting position on a contending team which I think he (could of made the same money over time) but now he is on the bench with a rival team behind Roy. It's a smart move for his family but a wrong move for his career. To me he seemed upset cause he thought the Jazz would match but warrented trailbalzers fans/organization he was excited for playing whatever the traiblazers offered him minutes and position wise.

He went from somebody to a bench option.

[HammerDunk]

Best of luck in Portland Wes. I find it funny that he thought the Jazz would ever match that hideous contract. If he really wanted to stay in Utah, he would have known there was no way we could keep him at that price and would have let us have him cheaper, but hardly anybody would do that in this day and age.

This leaves me wishing that KOC would be more proactive with our free agents than simply telling them to go find their value. The Al trade is saving his goose from being completely cooked on this deal. I'm also wondering if he would ever accepted the 3m a year the Jazz probably would have offered him. Something in me tells me he would have said FU and let Portland overpay for him.

Regardless of what happened, I hope he does well for him. If he doesn't, then I'll be almost as happy about it though.

[LjJazzman]

Matthews is a class act. He wouldnt lie about the Jazz not making an offer, and he probably would have signed whatever they put in front of him. Makes you wonder if he was truly a priority. My guess is the priority was getting Jefferson and they put Matthews on the backburner, not sure how much salary they'd have committed....

Yep

I would have thought the way the Jazz were handling this was the right way, but then portland had to **** everyone over including themselves. i doubt any other team in the league would have given wes even half of what he got other then the Jazz.

I feel horrible about losing him, but i'm happy he got his big pay day. Great kid.

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

If he really wanted to resign with the Jazz then why did he go out and sign with Portland? If he expressed an interest to re-sign with them in the 5 mil. ball park they would have snatched him up and done it fast. It's his own fault that he going to Portland, just trying to blame the Jazz for his mistake.

I'll miss him and I wish him the best but...I don't see things working out so well for him.

[countrybama24]

The whole "let the market set a free agent's value" philosophy is begging for teams with biggers pockets to poach our free agents.

I though wesley sounded incredibly loyal and easy to resign for much less, if we either inked him to an extension (idk if you can do that, but maybe) or just made the first offer of 75% of the MLE, something he probably would agree to, or at least come close.

Wesley's dad even thought he was a 3-5 mil $ player.

He did make a mistake by signing if he really wanted to stay with the Jazz, but some of this clearly rests on the FO.

[dr0welf]

Some might be the agent too. Agents play hard ball so you never know what was said. I bet if the Jazz thought they could sign him for less then the MLE they would have.

[HammerDunk]

So, is anyone else really excited to see us play Portland this year? I think our dominance will continue. I can't wait to see Raja ring Wes' bell. It will be magnificent.

[BballFanAddict]

Being that SLC and Portland are both small market NBA teams, I believe both sets of fans can be real and admit that the vast majority of NBA players do not choose Utah or Portland as their priority places to play. Nor do most of the players desire to stay in these markets when FA. Mostly money keeps these kids in SLC and Portland.

Portland over paid him because they had to so that Utah would not match. The FO here says Matthews was their number 1 target. They didn't put up the offer to mess with Utah. They really want Matthews.

Matthews' comments were very sincere but they were also very PC. You know damn well that kid has been jumping up and down since the moment he signed that front loaded deal with Portland. Where he played was a distant second priority compared to the deal he signed.

You all got a great player in Raja. When it looked like the Jazz were going to sink, and likely push D-Wil out the door in the process, your FO moved quickly and completely salvaged the off-season.

While it would be nice as a Blazer fan to FINALLY have the Jazz be a push over, the basketball fan in me welcomes the Jazz being as tough as they always are.

Good luck this year.

[Reckless]

Portland was after Wesley the day Free Agency began. You guys don't think he would have at least listened to see what Portland would have offered him before he re-signed with the jazz? I doubt it.

[HammerDunk]

I find it hilarious that Portland's #1 priority in the off-season will be a trade piece for them, or at least that's how I've heard it will be. What's the news over there on him like?

[3960HOOD]

I can't fault a guy who a year ago was making the rookie minimum taking this amount of money, I'm guessing the majority of us would do the same. Like most of you I wonder if Portland really wanted him or if they were playing hardball with us too match and go deeper into luxury tax territory.

[BballFanAddict]

I find it hilarious that Portland's #1 priority in the off-season will be a trade piece for them, or at least that's how I've heard it will be. What's the news over there on him like?

He is definitely NOT a trade piece. He cannot be traded until December at the earliest per the CBA. However, I very much believe he was brought in so that Portland could make a big trade that will gut the SF and or Guard / Wing positions.

Its my guess they are after a PG like Tony Parker. They went hard after CP3, but I am sure you all heard that was a no-go. Some say it could still happen now that Bower is gone. I fantasize about it, but I find it very, very, very unlikely.

Matthews is definitely a keeper. Much like he is a Sloan kid he is also a McMillan kid. Tough and defensive-minded.

I believe Sloan is like a mentor to McMillan.

[BballFanAddict]

I can't fault a guy who a year ago was making the rookie minimum taking this amount of money, I'm guessing the majority of us would do the same. Like most of you I wonder if Portland really wanted him or if they were playing hardball with us too match and go deeper into luxury tax territory.

Portland REALLY wants this guy. Here is a piece written tonight from one of the two Portland Scouts that was interviewed at the SL in Vegas. This guy and the other lead scout are acting GM at this time.

Oh, by the way, the plan they are using this FA was the same as the one when Pritchard was GM.

I just caught up with Portland Trail Blazers Director of NBA Scouting Mike Born courtside here in Las Vegas. Born urged patience and wouldn't say that anything was official until after physicals are passed and papers are shuffled.

But Born is clearly excited at the addition of Wesley Matthews to Portland's roster. While Born didn't want to discuss details of the offer or how the team arrived at the contract's size and length, he did effusively praise Matthews as a person and player. "He was the guy that we had targeted as a free agent, the guy that we wanted to go after," Born said. "We felt like he's the guy who can do a lot of things for us. He has a chance to be a really good defender. You look at how he played in college and how he played this last year in Utah, we think he can be a really good defensive piece."

Born was careful to note that the team does not view Matthews only as a defensive specialist. "Offensively, he's pretty solid there too. He averaged about 9 points during the regular season and then during the playoffs he was about 12.5 or 13 points total over the two series against Denver and the Lakers. I think he's just got a chance to be a piece to help us win a championship and ultimately that's why we decided to get after him."

it's been clear in a number of recent conversations that Portland targeted Matthews in free agency for his combination of skillset, personality and fit. "Ben, he can be great for us," Born said. "We were talking about this before, we do a lot of work on the guys that we're working out for the draft, free agency. We do intel work on those guys -- Andre Miller, Marcus Camby -- he's going to be a terrific fit for us. He's everything we're about. He's a great kid, a great worker, a great teammate. Really well liked. Obviously for him playing for the two coaches he's played for -- at Marquette and then playing for Coach Sloan -- that says a lot about him as a player and as a person. We think he's got a chance to be a really good player for us and to be a really good fit for our culture. I think people will really like him as a person as well."

[HammerDunk]

All I know is that somebody from Portland, I think the commentator, was on our radio show, saying that he may be a trade piece, along with Miller, to get CP3 when he's done.

[The Sheik]

You know the funny thing, I see Matthews potential as Raja Bell in his PHX days.