Utah Jazz: Wesley Matthews thankful for time in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — It might not come as much consolation to the Utah Jazz and their fans, but Wesley Matthews appreciates his experience with the team.

After officially signing his five-year, $32.5 million contract with Portland — a frontloaded deal Utah declined to match — Matthews said he needed to "acknowledge the past" in order "to embrace the present and prepare for the future" in his new home.

"I really need to thank Utah, the Utah Jazz for giving me this opportunity to live my dream out, to be an NBA player," Matthews said in an introductory news conference in Portland.

"The fans in Utah embraced me, the coaching staff, the organization trusted me, my teammates trusted me as a player and soon became friends, and I just need to thank them for all that they've done."

What the Jazz did was take a flier on Matthews, who went undrafted out of Marquette last year. Thanks to his relentless play on defense, his hard work, timely 3-point shooting and some injuries, Matthews earned a spot on the regular-season roster and eventually became the starter, even playing a key role in the playoffs.

Matthews still has to pinch himself considering where his journey has taken him the past year.

"(This is) a story that God can only write," Matthews said, "and I'm just trying not to mess it up, to go from undrafted, to playing a waiting game, to having my agent try to find jobs overseas, to taking a slim chance to go to Utah, to making a team, to playing, to starting, to playing in the playoffs, now getting the biggest contract that I could get as a second-year guy. I can't think of too many stories like this."

Matthews isn't sure what his role will be with the Blazers, who have an All-Star starting shooting guard in Brandon Roy and veterans like Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez in his position.

"They have a plan for me," Matthews said.

And that plan doesn't just include paying him more money than anybody could have imagined heading into the free-agency period. Matthews will receive a bonus-loaded paycheck of $9.1 million within the next week for his first season after earning a league minimum of $457,588 in 2009-10.

Quite the pay raise, but was it too much?

"My answer to that is that I'll be in the gym," Matthews said. "I appreciate the money. I appreciate it more for my family. The money's for them; this game is what's for me, and I love this game. Before I signed, I said this money is not going to change a thing about me."

Despite his fondness for Utah, Matthews made it clear where his allegiances are.

"Now, I'm a Blazer and I'm excited for it," he said. "I'm excited to be a part of this city, a part of this culture, a part of the tradition that you guys have here."

He's also excited to play for the home team at the Rose Garden with Blazers fans that he's heard "are just as good, if not better" than the Jazz faithful at EnergySolutions Arena.

e-mail: jody@desnews.com