The Portland Trail Blazers got their man from the Utah Jazz this time. Unlike last Summer where a “toxic” offer to Paul Millsap was matched by the Jazz, management in Salt Lake City decided against matching the offer sheet made to swingman Wesley Matthews earlier this week.
After a surprising rookie season which saw the defensive specialist become a starter for the Jazz, he attracted some attention as a restricted free agent this Summer. The Blazers have made a concerted push toward becoming more of a defensive team and the new addition of Matthews, alongside the development of Nicolas Batum and Greg Oden and the already stellar defence of Marcus Camby and Joel Przybilla, as well as the potential presented by Dante Cunningham and Armon Johnson means that the face of Blazers basketball should change.
Matthews will likely come in as the primary backup to Brandon Roy and will draw many key defensive assignments, in tandem with Batum. He can play both the shooting guard and small forward roles and shows plenty of potential.
That is why it was such a surprise to Matthews that the Jazz did not make an offer to retain his services. From Chris Tomasson at Fanhouse:
“I thought they would match,” Matthews said in a phone interview with FanHouse minutes after he heard from his agent, Lance Young, that the Jazz would sign guard Raja Bell to a three-year, $10 million contract as his replacement and not match the five-year, $33.4 million offer sheet he had signed with the Trail Blazers as a restricted free agent. “After all, they said I was a priority.”
When Young called Matthews and told him he was going to Portland, Matthews said he was “excited” and said he uttered, “Let’s do it.” But part of him wondered why the Jazz had never made him an initial offer.
“They said that I was a priority, but they never made me an offer,” said Matthews, who said the Jazz used the strategy of having him bring back an offer sheet. “They never offered me anything. I’m sure that if they would have made an offer, it would have been a fair offer and I might have taken it.”
He will battle Jerryd Bayless, Batum, Cunningham and whichever guards round out the roster from amongst the likes of Patty Mills and Johnson for playing time. There is no doubting that the Blazers got a player who is of the right age to fit with the team’s core and one who will provide a number of years of growth within the team structure.
Will the Jazz — in a tight financial bind — regret their decision? Time will tell.
