Meet
We can’t afford to lose a third
Posted by: Michael King on July 11th, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.After the losses of Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, a loss of Wesley Matthews could very likely be detrimental to the team. Even though there is talk of our bringing back Ronnie Brewer, many seem to have forgotten that he too is a restricted free agent, meaning Memphis can simply match any offer we give him. Effectively killing any shot at a decent shooting guard that could come in and be a starter in place of Matthews. Lets also not forget the job he did against Kobe and Carmelo defensively during the playoffs this year. His effort earned himself praise coming from Kobe himself. If someone can defend Kobe well enough to earn his respect and praise, then why on earth would you let him walk if you can resign him? Did Brewer ever earn such respect from anyone he guarded? No. And we all know Ronnie’s shooting away from the basket is terrible. I’m left to believe that at this moment Wesley Matthews is the better all around player between him and Ronnie. Plus Wes can guard the 3 as well as the 2. Something Brewer has a hard time doing. Sure the offer from Portland is front loaded, but after this year of 9.2 million, we’d only be paying Wesley what we originally planned on anyways which is the 5.8 million MLE maximum. We’d have Matthews under contract for another 5 years with 4 of those at a salary of 5.8 mil. He’ll have alot of time to improve and grow during those years in which he will almost definitely earn his 5.8 per year. Plus Brewer is coming back off of an injury, where Matthews was able to play in all 82 games for us..48 of which were starts. Our record after we let Ronnie go was better than it was when he was starting for us. Besides, who left in free agency that plays the 2 is capable of defending as well as Wes can? We need to keep Matthews if we want to become a better team sooner rather than later. Wesley is already a piece to the puzzle, so why worry about replacing him? With him we really only have to worry about getting a good big guy, yet without him we need a good starting 2, plus a big. To me it’s a no-brainer. KEEP MATTHEWS!!
Replies: 9
Views: 403
9 Responses
Michael,
I do have to agree with you that the Jazz do need to keep Matthews. However, some of your information is wrong. The MLE only starts at 5.8. The player receives a raise of around 10.5 percent every year of the contract. So, in the last years they will be paying him around 7 and 8 million a year and not 5.8. I do believe he is worth it and I also believe he will turn into a Multi-year All-star. Seeing what this man did last year as an Undrafted Rookie just shows how good he is and also how hard of a worker he is. Also, Ronnie Brewer is not a Restricted Free Agent. He would of been but Memphis let go of his rights which made him an Unrestricted Free Agent. So, the Jazz could sign him. I would like to see the Jazz have both Wesley and Ronnie Brewer. Although I do not think that would be able to happen considering the amount that Wesley will make, it will leave the Jazz with only the Bi-Annual Exception of 2.08 million and the three trade Exceptions. So, I believe the best they can do right now is resign Wesley Matthews and then try to do a Sign-and-Trade for Al Harrington using their Trade Exceptions. Considering Al Harrington is a Free Agent, I think this could work because then at least New York can gain a Trade Exception in the deal. The team would look like this then
Point Guard: D-Will, R. Price, S. Gaines
Off Guard: Wesley Matthews, Gordon Hayward, O. Jeffers
S. Forward: C.J. Miles, Al Harrington, A.K. 47, Hayward
P. Forward: Paul Millsap, A.K., Al Harrington
Center: Memo, KK, Fez.
Starting Lineup: D-Will, W. Mathews, C.J. MIles, Paul Millsap, Memo (when healthy, KK when injured)
I honestly think that could be a great lineup. Also imagine putting in a line-up of C.J., Harrington, A.K. and Memo in there. That is a pretty long lineup. Both Harrington and A.K. are extremely long and stand close to 6-10. They also have an inside outside game and both are good defenders. This line-up I think could really do well. Considering that C.J., Wesley and Paul could all compete for the Most Improved Player Award Next year.
I understand that Jazz Fans want us to bring in a Big man. However, I do not see us landing Jefferson because Minnesota wants something besides a Salary Dump in return. All the Jazz can offer them is the Trade Exception and with the TE, you can’t give the team anything else. So, let’s stay course and give our young bigs chances to develop. We all need to understand how old they both are. KK is 21 and Fez is only 23. Both of them are playing the position that takes the longest to develop. KK had a pretty good Summer League and said he is skipping the FIBA world games in order to stay in Utah and Work on his game for the upcoming season. Let’s give this a chance. Plus, after next year we also have Ante Tomic coming over.
Scratch what I just said about signing Wes and still being able to get Harrington. I just found out New York renounced AL’s rights when they signed Amare. Meaning per the CBA, the Jazz can no longer do a Sign-and-Trade for Al harrington. That sucks! I really would of liked to see Wesley stay and the Jazz get Al!
I agree Michael. Wesley is a “special” player, and if the Jazz go cheap, and bring back Brewer instead, it’s yet another step backward, in what’s been an alarming offseason. I will lose faith in the Jazz organization if Matthews isn’t back in a Jazz jersey next season. I understood the situation with both Boozer and Korver, but this is a guy who can clearly be a key part of our foundation for many years to come. If you appreciate a guy who really gets after it defensively, then you have to love Wesley Matthews. I guess if your a fan who judges guys by how many points they score, and how fancy a dunk they can lay down, then it’s impossible to explain or make you understand everything a guy like Matthews does to help a team win. He is a warrior, as are Millsap, and D-Will. These three HATE losing. You can see it etched on their faces after every loss. Stats meaning nothing to these guys. All that matters is winning basketball games. If Sloan has a say in this decision, which I assume he will, then I can’t see the Jazz not matching Portland’s offer. If Matthews does leave though, it will be because Greg Miller didn’t want to put up the money. I hate to be that blunt, but that’s what it would really boil down too. He’s the guy that would be footing the bill. It’s really his call.
Greg, not every person signed at the MLE gets the 10.5% increase every year. When I took a look at the numbers on the contract, it’s for 5.8 million a year without the increase and instead simply front-loaded the contract with the signing bonus the league allows forcing us to pay him 9.2 million the first year. The final four years of the contract stay at the 5.8 mark. Had Portland included the increase from year to year, it would’ve made the offer so much harder to match. Personally I’m of the opinion that if Portland was indeed just trying to put us in a hole financially they did a pretty lousy job on the contract. Because of this, we’d end up saving money in the long run if we do match. I wouldn’t have minded seeing Al Harrington in a Jazz jersey, but NY renouncing their rights to him bites. However it is still possible that we possibly try and trade for him with the team he signs with. A long shot I know, but still an option. Even if we do wait to do so til around the trade deadline. As for KK starting when Memo is out, I disagree. Yes he had a good summer league, but Fes is the only one with any decent time during NBA games. I say we start Fes and have KK come in off the bench for him. Both would get alot more playing time than they have been, and Fes is currently the better player of the two. I also wasn’t aware that Memphis let go of Brewer’s rights. That actually allows us to at least get something back if Wes does leave. I can’t picture Matthews leaving the Jazz this summer, and if he does than this summer quickly got alot worse for the team. If we don’t pick up a big this summer, then we can definitely go after one next year with AK’s contract up. I wouldn’t mind us resigning him as long as its for a reasonable rate.
What you’re all missing is if they resign Brewer his old jersey I have will no longer be useless. That’s priority number one. ha.
But I’m still calling the bluff of portland. If they take on Wesley their either going to waive him or try and trade him or one of their guards. Which I hear NY is interested in Fernandez. It sucks but it gives us more money and exceptions to work with. Brewer is a fine guy. I love his defense and movement without the ball. His baseline moves have been missing from our offense last year. I love the kid. And his shot was improving before he left. It wouldn’t hurt to fill out the roster with a guy like that. Especially when you need to be pleasing your all-star point guard. We can still add pieces. Brewer would be an awesome off the bench defender if we can find a starting guard whose better. But focus on the BIGGEST problem plaguing utah since the 90’s maybe late 80’s. We need a GOOD center. Guards are replaceable. They come and go. But finding a talented big man should be priority number one.
Its obvious the Jazz have 2 options to me. And 1 they arent even thinking about.
1. They trade for Al Jefferson. This would mean we wouldnt get Matthews back because we dont have the money. However we would have the money to get Brewer.
2. We get Matthews back. That meas the Jazz dont have the money to get anyone else.
Wheres Brewer? Only if Matthews doesnt resign will we sign for Brewer.
Now not to bag on Matthews but he just seems to expencive and I think 2 starts like Jefferson and Brewer is better than a 1 year pro in matthews.
I agree with Kelton. 9 million up front is way to much for a player who really hasn’t prove much. Let Portland pay that money to a back up. I cant believe It but I like bringing Brewer back, as long as they make another move for a big man.
There is the possibility of them doing a trade with their trade exception first, before matching the deal, because they can go over the cap to sign their own player, just not a player from another team. They showed last year that they are willing to pay tax so maybe they do again.
Then again they can go over the cap with the trade exception to. Either way, the notion that they cant afford to both resign Mathews and add a big is false.