I gave my reasons. He'll be 24 next year, he was below average this year, and he'll be the 4th highest player on the roster. Plus, his cap number simply won't be worth his production, IMO. I'm interested in why you think this is a good signing if Utah doesn't match.
You guys said the same thing about Milsap. Either step up to the plate or move the team. AK is a stupid contract. Millsap and Matthews (2/5 of your potential starters) making 6 million/yr in two years is hardly over paid.
Is him being 24 a good or a bad thing? I would say it's a good thing. Mature enough to help now, but young enough that we get almost all of his prime years under one contract. And I don't think that it's fair to say he was below-average, given his good defense. Because it's adding a starting-level guy who still has potential to improve while costing the team absolutely nothing other than Paul Allen's money. It also weakens a division rival, whether they match or not. Ed O.
He will be making 6 million a year. (after next season) So he is only worth 4 million a year. Not a Big deal imo.
Well, that's your opinion as well. Utah is a terrible defensive team, anyhow. Also Kobe worked hard to get his points? 32 ppg 52% FG 86 % FT (38 FTA in 4 games) If that is "working hard" I'd hate to see Kobe have it easy in a sweep. Kobe ripped Matthews a new asshole. I hope he's worth the money, but I don't see it as a good or necessary use of the MLE.
Millsap put up 18/10 when Boozer was out, he's a bargain. Matthews put up 10/2 as a starter, much different in any case. No one complained about Millsap, just they had to borrow a loan to match the deal so it was a big deal. If Portland wasn't owned by one of the richest Moguls in the U.S., they probably wouldn't be able to afford a high payroll in the middle of a "Recession" either.
I can think of about 34 million reasons why he'd do that. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted. I don't want him to take minutes away from Batum either, but I like Matthews better than Bayless personally. At any rate, I think there will be more changes before the season starts so it's too early to talk about minute distribution. I think we're overpaying some, but the bottom line is it's the only way to get him, and I actually like him a lot as a player.
If I prayed, I'd be praying that you guys match the offer. Matthews for 4/$16m; sure, that's OK. Matthews at 5/$34m; wow, I don't get it.
Right, my question is what makes you feel he was solid as a starter. His PER was definitely not starter quality. Are you using some other metric, or are you going by observation?
keep in mind that the way this deal is structured that 9 mil is due within SEVEN days of contract becoming done, for a small market team like the Jazz that may not be easy.
A comparison of Martell and Matthews last season... the similarities are striking: http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=Xg6V7 The difference here is this: Martell's ceiling is Wesley's floor. EDIT: Here's a three-way comparison (Matthews, Webster, Outlaw) - I added Trav because he's going to make similar money to Matthews: http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=a8r1X NOTE: The Travis year is 2008-09, since it has playoff stats and a more accurate representation of Outlaw over a healthy season.
12.3 PER isn't that bad, given the kind of player he is (a role player with low usage who primarily focuses on defense). Additionally, I tend to think that players who start on good teams with good coaches do so for a reason. I was never blown away watching him, by any means, but he is a solid young player who's a starting-level swing man in my opinion. Ed O.
I think its safe to say our current scouts have a good track record and I have no reason to doubt them. He looks like a great option as the first guy off the bench who should only get better. I'm laughing my ass of in regards to the "look what Kobe did to him" comment. For obvious reasons. Why the fuck cant you guys put the actual TOPIC of the thread in the title!?!?
The problem is everyone is getting paid more than they are worth this year because of the supply and demand. Over abundance of teams with cap space and few players to spend it on.
People were comparing him to Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen, two players who have given Kobe Bryant fits. Matthews got torched by Kobe. What obvious reasons are there for you laughing at using Matthews' performance against Bryant as a point of comparison, or even defensive ability?
In their rookie season? Bowen and Bell became known as defensive stalwarts later in their careers, not as a rookie going up against Kobe Bryant in the playoffs. But thanks for your thoughts.
The last two playoff series that Kobe faced Raja Bell (06', 07'), he averaged 28.1 ppg, and in 07' alone he averaged 32.8ppg. The last three playoff series that Kobe faced Bruce Bowen (03', 04', 08'), he averaged 29.9ppg. He averaged 32 ppg. against Matthews who was a rookie. Nobody gives Kobe fits, nobody stops him. Matthews has defensive ability though, just as Bowen and Bell did.
BGrant is just miffed because somehow without a GM the Blazers were able to pursue a free agent and actually get him to sign on the dotted line ... on the first try. Now of course it remains to be seen if this will be a good move, but if all he turns out to be is Martell with a handle, good perimeter defense and high efficiency shooting in a complimentary role it won't be a terrible signing ... maybe not great. I'm reserving judgement for the time being.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=TPSlb Matthews versus Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen - to make things interesting, I went with Raja and Bruce's 3rd year versus Wesley's rookie year. He's not as good as Raja or Bruce defensively, but he's so much better than them offensively, it's not even funny. In other words, he's a pretty well-rounded player. I'm feeling better about him already.
