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The Jazz Messed Up With Mathews and Korver
Posted by: Brian McCann on January 26th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.I don’t want to be that fan that always waxes hard on what could’ve been. The past is the past. Bad decisions in sports are a collective sunk cost, and there is always another game to be played; another day to prove everyone wrong. I also don’t want to be the fan that over simplifies the complexity of dealing with trades and free agent signings of multi-million dollar athletes with multi-million dollar egos. KOC has it rough, man.
But as an irrational fan, in one of the most polar markets in sports, I will occasionally step up on my proverbial soap box. No, I don’t get paid to do anything for the Utah Jazz, and while logic might tell all of us that we should leave the actual “caring” to those that depend on this team for their livelihood, the illogical, emotional Jazz fan in me just doesn’t care. So despite the hardship surrounding the job of our steadfast General Manager, let me add the perspective of at least one disgruntled fan by at first saying “I told you so” followed up with a little “what are you going to do about this?”
Carlos boozer was unnecessarily blamed for all of our issues over the last couple of seasons, primarily because he screwed himself with the comments he made on that fateful mid-season night in New Jersey, while he calmly watched the Jazz struggle without him from the sidelines. I get it that the guy never was very likeable because of his injuries, questionable commitment, and overall aloofness. But, offensively, he was a master at executing Jerry’s system. And I don’t mean to get all sacrileges on our fan base, but our defensive woes in the post were a two-man issue. Memo Okur has always been a worse defender than Boozer, but Memo is loveable and Boozer burned that bridge. Had Boozer been backed up defensively by a true shot-blocking center, and had he cared about the game half as much as Paul Millsap, the Jazz could be in a very different position right now.
I agree overall that it was time for Boozer to move on. I’m really not trying to argue to the contrary. What I don’t agree with, and didn’t agree with last summer, was letting Mathews and Korver walk. Yes, I understand the salary cap (NOTE: anyone who says they “understand the salary cap” should immediately be distrusted, but I digress…). I know what it would have cost the Jazz THIS SEASON to retain Mathews, but besides the fact that he was our second best/most consistent player in last years playoffs, is the fact that Portland will have him on the cheap for the next FOUR YEARS after this season is over. And the way he has been playing this year, that could be four very painful years.
The thing that really gets to me is that Mathews even had the opportunity to become a restricted free agent last summer. O’Connor should have offered him an extension mid-way through last season. Call it careless planning or whatever you want, but he was a diamond in the rough, and it is his job to lock guys like Wesley up, or at the very least make it a point to be on his doorstep the very second his free agency begins with a viable contact. He did, after all, want to be here. And when he signed the offer sheet with Portland, I’m sorry, but we should have matched. If KOC was that concerned with spending, he could have looked ahead to a salary dump before the trade deadline; something that he might still do now, except now we don’t have Mathews.
Korver on the other hand was slow to rotate on D, and lacked athleticism, but his outside shooting is sorely missed. Sad thing is, he signed with the Bulls for a very affordable $5 Mill a year. As far as has been reported, the Jazz didn’t even make him an offer.
I don’t mean to sound bleak, down, or depressed, but, honestly, that is how I feel. As of right now, Deron Williams probably will not make the All-Star team; not in a conference with Westbrook, Paul, and Parker (considering the seasons all three are having). There is still some time for things to change in that regard, but Deron is already frustrated with his teammates, and it will be very hard for him not to feel like they are holding him back in some regard if he doesn’t make it. And if the Jazz fail to land a decent playoff seed, followed by a decent playoff run, you better bet he will be contemplating his future as a member of the Utah Jazz, especially considering the fact that we are looking at a lockout shortened season next year. In other words, in my humble, irrational opinion, if the Jazz don’t right the ship soon, we might have a Carmelo Anthony situation on our hands (at least internally, without as much hype).
I don’t know the answers, and I won’t pretend that I definitively do. I’ll leave that up to the guys that are getting paid to make those decisions. But as a paying fan, both in time and in money (really, more than I should spend), I expect a little more, and that expectation has been obtained through what Utah’s front office has been telling me for the last four or five years now. We have been supposedly “building a contender”, and now, with our franchise player’s next contract negotiations approaching faster than most of us would like, it is time for us to contend.
Like David Aldridge said earlier this week, we are officially on the clock. The time to steady this ship is now. Whether that is through trades, lineup changes, or longer practices, something’s gotta give. I will always be a Jazz fan, and I definitely won’t abandon them when they are at their worst, but a lower playoff seed followed by another loss to LA will severely damage my belief in some of the personnel we have in the front office, and that is just me being honest.
Replies: 11
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11 Responses
We’d be a different team with Matthews in the lineup.
Also, I will puke for three days straight if the Jazz lose in the playoffs to the Lakers this year. That’s a promise.
For the seventeenth time all undrafted players are required to sign a one year contract which is non-guarentee before coming to training camp. If they are not waved by sometime in Feb their contract is good throughout the season.They then become a RFA.(See Larry Coon at Hoopsworld.)KOC did what he could but Matthews and his greedy agent went for the cake and ate it too.Eighty years ago the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees.It is still gets under some peoples skin. Not many though case most of them are dead.How long will it be before this Matthews thing will be brought up??
Larry- A long, long time. The Jazz screwed up. KOC has always been in a wait and see mode when it comes to RFA’s. He did not pursue Mathews with much intensity. How could he have? Mathews didn’t even know the Jazz put an offer on the table, nor were they the first to call him. I understand the one year deal, but I was alos under the impression-and may be wrong-that teh rules for a contract extention still apply.
Regardless, Wesley has stated publicly that this is where he wanted to be. I agree teh chasim in communication was with his agent, but it also seems the Jazz were content to sit back and wait; the same way they did with Millsap and Miles, and this time it bit them hard.
I understand that some people may not like what I have written here, and I am OK with it. Some people are OK with this team no matter what they do, and the answer they continually give is that this team just needs more time. Personally, I’m over that, because we are running out of time. I agree that some of these issues will play out, but to what extent? a fifth seed and no homecourt advantage? Another sweep by the Lakers? I would rather we not make the playoffs. Again, that’s just my opinion.
Brian man, I know you’re frustrated. . .other fans are also very frustrated, I’m super frustrated – it’s the same old Jazz we’ve seen for years! They tease us by showing their potential for greatness and superiority in the league. The next day they show us that anybody can beat them. It really blows to be a fan. We get our hearts broken time and time again. It takes a real sucker to stick with them. It’s like having a girlfriend that is your whole world and then cheats on you, apologizes and then does it again and again and again and for some stupid reason you stick with them.
The question I ask is if there is some point at which you stop following the Jazz? Could the Jazz go on year after year getting worse and worse and you would still be a fan? If the answer is yes, then my hat is off to you. I would hope to do the same. And if it is yes, then unfortunately in our positions the only answer is time. It’s a terrible answer, but it’s what we’ve got. And if we’re going to stick with them then we need to try our hardest to remain positive about things – difficult I know – but totally worth it when “the time” finally does come. Think of how rewarding it will be to know that you stuck with them through thick and thin. It will be 100 times better than if you are a fair weather fan.
Now, I’m not talking just about you in that last little bit, but any Jazz fan that’s out there.
Go Jazz!
Josh- totally agree. I’m in it for the long haul. I’m that sucker. I just want to see this team shake up the way they do things a little here and there, ya know? Make some noise, go after a big FA publicly or pull off a big mid-season trademore than once a decade. I’m not saying with the overbearing frequency of the Suns or Mavs, but enough to give us something to beleive in with these guys.
I guess Time is the only answer in the end. It is just brutal.
for the record, I think we didn’t go after Korver because of that other white guy we drafted. Who will be a better player in the next few years.
Brian,
Do you have that “Inception” thing going on, because these are close to my exact thoughts, especially concerning the changes that were made last summer? Getting rid of Brewer and Matthews were finacially driven, and Boozer is a very complicated matter. I believe not making Korver an offer was simply Jerry Sloan’s dislike or lack of respect for the importance of three-point shooting and his emphasis on defense(which I admitt does often win games). Right now one of the excuses given by the Jazz is that the team is adjusting to new players and needs time, but I thought the changes last summer were so the team could be better now. Since Brewer and Korver were two of my favorite players, I have been watching Chicago and sometimes it is hard to see those guys not in Jazz uniforms.
I also will always be a Jazz fan, 30 years of ups and downs will not be changed by one year of unrest.
@Kyle
I think you are right about Hayward, and he is certainly more athletic, I just don’t think many of us wanted to wait a couple of years for him to develop if he is replacing someone who is on his game now.
Wesleys agent didn’t tell him the jazz made an offer. he was greedy. If Wes knew, he probably would have signed. Who knows.
It’s easy to say “we should have just matched portlands offer”
But none of us actually own the team and sign the paychecks. It’s easy to spend other peoples money. I’d kill to have Wes back, I’d give anything to go back in time and sign him for three years at the beggining of last season. But in all honesty would you take an undrafted rookie and say “Here, we want you to sign a 3 year deal” while already being deep over the cap???
Euh @colby, if this undrafted rookie is better than half of your team after only 3 months, yes definitely…
Colby-He should have received a contract extention when he became a regular starter last year, so to answer your question, yes. Wes was too important, undrafted or not, an he proved that every time he took the floor (especially last spring). KOC’s style has always been to sit back in the wings and passive aggresively (and very privately) chase players. Well, this time it bit him hard. I understand the point about his agent’s greed-I read all of those articles too. Point is, it never should have come to that.