Well sure, I've heard "the way they treated Wes Matthews" cited repeatedly by players, agents and analysts alike as a primary reason free agents don't sign in Portland. It will be an indelible stain on the franchise for years to come. It's all subject to interpretation. Clearly it bothered you. We all know it irked Wes. Me...I didn't have an issue with it. Sure a "two-minute phone call" on the way out (as @TorturedBlazerFan suggested) would have been a good idea, but oh well.
I was absolutely fine with not offering a contract to him, or bringing him back after the injury everyone knew he wasn't coming back. Just think it plays better to treat those type of guys well. Also, think if I was in Wes's position I'd be upset too, and if I was in NO's position I'd make it a point to make that quick phone call for all my guys whether they were leaving or not. You want to get Agent's and Players talking about how great of an organization the Blazers are and how well they treat you, even when you're in the process of moving on that'll help.
Awesome, he was brutal (which was fully deserved IMO) and our offense is brutal, and he was honest and telling it like it is. Absolutely loved to hear a broadcaster make an honest analysis and loved that it was on Natl TV, maybe that will get back to our owner and higher ups how ugly and shitty the Stotts offense is.
Watching the game tonight thinking about Webber's comments and those of various posters here, I got to thinking - how is it that you have motivation to put in effort - dive for balls, play serious defense, etc. when regularly your offense is, as others have pointed out, is to have people in four corners effectively functioning as outlets for the one-on-one player. No effort required to stand in the corner and if you don't have to expend effort on offense, you are not mentally prepared to expend effort on defense. Not that the Kings are a great example of ball movement but, on average, they have more than the Blazers. We have low-energy offense which, IMO, leads to low-energy defense and low-energy everything. Also makes for relatively boring basketball. <sigh>
Wesley Matthews would fit the Stotts "system" perfectly, with his great shooting-off-the-dribble. (Not.)
