Yeah...as I was watching the game they gave a quick shot of the bench. I saw the glimpse of a guy wearing a bandaid on his forehead...and I was like "wait a minute, was that Mateen??". KC later told us that yes...indeed it was Mateen.
Yeah, watching warm-ups I saw a guy shooting and I thought; "wow! he has the same form as Mateen!". I'm glad he's still in the L, but I think that's disrespectful how he was treated. To waive a guy and then rent him for 10 days is messed up. That's basically saying that he isn't worth what he was making, but we'll keep him around in case we're in a bind. 10 day contracts are supposed to be for guys who need to prove themselves. The Sonics should already be fully aware of what Mateen can and cannot do on the floor at this point.
I think that they are working on a trade but realized that they needed a little insurance, and though the playbooks are different, Mateen knows the personnel and the staff and would be the only 10 day contract point they had a chance of getting some usage out of while they work on their trade possibilities. If all the potential trades fall through they will likely sign him for the rest of the year. Just my take...
psheehy I agree with you, I'm aware of the trade implications but I still think it's wrong. It's the same concept as when teams used to ask perfectly healthy guys to go on the injured list with bogus ailments. It's great to take one for the team, but I don't agree with that kind of strategy.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting monty001:</div><div class="quote_post">yeah I read that they're working on sending Evans and Murray to the Wolves for Marcus Banks.</div> Seems like a lopsided trade, do our guys see some huge upside with Banks? This is the Vegas guy, if I'm not mistaken.
The NBA is a business, unfortunately, and however good a guy you are (and Mateen is just that), if a team can save money and they're not New York, they generally will regardless of circumstances. The Sonics aren't exactly a money making machine, either. Anyway, I think it may just be insurance. With Luke missing the Dallas game and Rick still injured, that leaves us with only Flip and Wilkins as potential point guards.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post"> I'm glad he's still in the L, but I think that's disrespectful how he was treated. To waive a guy and then rent him for 10 days is messed up. That's basically saying that he isn't worth what he was making, but we'll keep him around in case we're in a bind. 10 day contracts are supposed to be for guys who need to prove themselves. The Sonics should already be fully aware of what Mateen can and cannot do on the floor at this point.</div> How is that disrespectful for them to offer him a 10 day contract? Wouldn't have been more disrespectful for them to not offer him a 10 day when it is obvious on Thursday that they needed to have at least one point guard on their active roster? 10 day contracts, one year contracts, six year max contracts, etc. are given to players that management feels can produce at the NBA level to help their franchise win games. Everyone who is under contract needs to prove themselves otherwise they run the risk of either being low balled for their next contract or not getting offered a contract at all. Did Cleaves deserve to be cut? No. Brunson moreso than anyone deserved to be cut--strictly b/c he has proven worthless to the team on the inactive list rehabbing in his hometown. But Brunson's deal was guaranteed and Cleaves wasn't, and when you are underachieving it doesn't make "cents" to keep a good locker room guy around. What people fail to remember is that Cleaves was also cut last season before the season, brought back on a 10 day contract b/c of Flip's hamstring injury, played his way onto the team in practice, and was given a guaranteed contract and roster spot the same time that he was cut this time last year b/c of the Sonics stellar record (23-7). No one was crying foul when he was brought back last year on a 10 day and I don't think that anyone should be ranting and raving about it now, especially when no other team felt it necessary to bring Mateen aboard when he was cut in early January. Had he felt so disrespected, something tells me that he wouldn't have come back up to the Emerald City when Sund and company offered him the 10 day. Just my opinion, though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post"> Had he felt so disrespected, something tells me that he wouldn't have come back up to the Emerald City when Sund and company offered him the 10 day. </div> I agree. He jumped right off that NBDL bus and onto a plane to make the game on Saturday. Mateen knows the biz part of things by now, and I doubt he feels disrespected, certainly not by the coaches or players. It helps that Hill thought the cut was dumb. (He hasn't said it outright, but I think his comments pulled together imply his thinking on the matter.)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post">Did Cleaves deserve to be cut? No.</div> That's the main reason that I feel he was disrespected. I like to think that after being cut he had other offers on the table, but maybe not. If he did, and he still chose to come back for 10 days with a losing squad then you're right, he didn't feel disrespected. I also wasn't really aware of all that stuff that you said went down last year with his contract. But last year Cleaves wasn't logging any minutes at all, we had two solid (ability, and durability) point guards who offset each other's weaknesses. I also didn't realize that we couldn't drop Brunson. I still think that with the emergence of Swift and Petro that we could have dropped Mikki Moore instead of Cleaves (although we just signed Moore, so his contract is probably guaranteed). Nothing against Moore, but he brings nothing to the table that Swift and Petro can't do. Except maybe taunt the opponent's bench and a little more range on his shot, which we get from our guards anyway.
Saying he shouldn't be cut is all well and good, but we're not the ones who have to pay him $600000 to sit on the bench.
