Jazz need to offer Mathews Great contract now!

[Montanajazz]

The Jazz need to offer Mathews a 4 year contract of 4mill, 4.5 mill, 5 mill, and 4th year 6 mil player option right now. Boozers situation could drag on into next week

[HolyToledo]

U know its going to happen that blazers or Minn sign him to a front loaded terrible contract and If I were the Jazz I would let him leave. U cant over-pay for him!!! U can start Miles at SG and move AK-47 back to SF or start Hayward

[DelaneyRudd]

U can't touch this.

[DelaneyRudd]

Anyone know the details of the Gilbert Arenas rule, the one that protects teams from losing restricted free agents without bird rights?

[jazzfan1971]

we can match any offer the first year with our mle

[outerspacefella]

Is there any news about someone actually extending an offer sheet to Matthews?

[DelaneyRudd]

No. Alas the great wiretap panic of 'oh ten has come and gone with little action.

[outerspacefella]

Why are guys putting numbers into it then? Is the Memphis desease an air borned virosis?

[farzi]

Is there any news about someone actually extending an offer sheet to Matthews?

Word out of Portland is they ARE discussing both Matthews and Morrow, but fear that Utah would match even a full MLE

[CarrKeefe]

Mathews by rule, cannot be offered more than the full MLE. Should Mathews be offered that by Portland or anybody else, the Jazz will match. The Jazz view Mathews as their starting SG. The Jazz won't offer Mathews that obviously because if nobody else gives Mathews an offer they can get him for cheap.

[seejaydeja]

THE JAZZ MUST RE-SIGN MATTHEWS NOW OR TRADE HIM TO CHICAGO FOR DENG OR NOAH. OTHERWISE THE BALZERS WILL OFFER HIM A "TOXIC" CONTRACT AND HE WILL LEAVE AND JAZZ WILL GET NOTHING AND KOC NEEDS TOO BE FIRED!!11111

[StocktonShorts]

Matthews can't be offered more than MLE for the first year. Second year can only be an 8% raise from the first year. Third year can, if I'm reading things right, be anything up to MAX contract; raises for years after that are limited to 6.9% of the third year.

So... as I posted in another thread here, the Jazz could structure a contract with a nice total payout but which defers the bulk of the money until the third and fourth years. This would help their tax situation.

And this means the Jazz need to pro-actively negotiate a deal with Matthews and not let another team dictate the terms, as happened with Millsap last year. BTW - The Jazz asked Millsap to do that last year; it will be interesting to see if they've done the same this year.

And yes, you can negotiate a new, separate deal with your RFA after you've made the qualifying offer.

[CarrKeefe]

THE JAZZ MUST RE-SIGN MATTHEWS NOW OR TRADE HIM TO CHICAGO FOR DENG OR NOAH. OTHERWISE THE BALZERS WILL OFFER HIM A "TOXIC" CONTRACT AND HE WILL LEAVE AND JAZZ WILL GET NOTHING AND KOC NEEDS TOO BE FIRED!!11111

[ADWCTA]

Mathews is not worth the full MLE.
Would not pay more than 4mil a year avg for him (what we're paying Miles). The new CBL is coming after next season, we do not want to be screwed w/ mid-sized contracts. No one remembers the Allan Houston rule? When CBLs get done, its the 5-8 mil contracts that kill.

And here's the bottom line with Mathews (and Brewer and Miles and Korver for that matter). They'll help you win games, but they're completely replacable without great hardship. You want 2 of these guys on your team healthy at all times, but unless you plan on being deep in the luxury tax, you don't want to pay market for them. The stars will get thier max contracts, and your big men will get their 8-10mil. It's when you're paying that extra 1-2 mil for each of your other players that you start feeling the squeeze.

I would also not match anything Fesenko gets over 2.5mil, or re-sign Korver (love the guy, but not the best fit for the team and the price).

[DelaneyRudd]

Good point. Hell, maybe Evans goes on to be a replacement. I think it's a system position that made players like Benoit, Russell, Brewer, Matthews better.

[StocktonShorts]

It's when you're paying that extra 1-2 mil for each of your other players that you start feeling the squeeze.

*cough* Matt Harpring

[StocktonShorts]

Wiretap says: "Blazers, Spurs, Lakers And Bucks Have Contacted Matthews"

How great is it to be Wesley Matthews right now?

[jazzfan1971]

Hmmm, it seems some pretty quality GMs are interested in Matthews.

[ADWCTA]

Hmmm, it seems some pretty quality GMs are interested in Matthews.

Teams that play the "right" way like a guy who's shown unprecedented rookie success in a system that pretty much defines playing the "right" way. Lakers won't be able to offer anything after signing Salmons/Blake, so not worried there. Bucks have 3-4mil left before going into Lux Tax, which they won't do, so we'll match that if it comes to it. Portland however has 6 mil to throw around and no own FAs they need to keep, which is problematic. Spurs have a ridiculous amount of cap space after Jefferson opted out, and if they're not looking to get one of the max guys (haven't heard anything about that for whatever reason), then the money's all there.

But, it's pretty much guarenteed Mathews won't get to start in either Portland or SA barring some major trades, and I'm sure he has some loyalty to the Jazz and wants to stay if Utah offers him anything within 25%. Mathews is only a 2nd year player, he's worrying more about setting up his next contract than plus or minus 1 mil per year on this one. In Utah, it's his starting position to lose to Miles. At the end of the day, I don't see Mathews anywhere else, or with anything more than a 3-4mil per year contract (perhaps a 4/5 year deal with 1/2 player-option years at the end he can opt-out from to get more $ then).

[outerspacefella]

Jazz have to keep Matthews, even if it takes their full MLE. Call me crazy, but for several no-nonsense reasons Matthews is in my amazingly short list of Jazz players I really don't want to part with right now.