Utah Jazz notebook: Matthews not fretting over making team

Pink Slip Day is quickly approaching, but thinking about getting cut by the Utah Jazz is the last thing on Wesley Matthews' mind right now.

"I haven't even thought about it," Matthews said Friday at practice.

Matthews and the other five NBA hopefuls on the Jazz's preseason roster can rest a bit easier — or, smarter yet, work a lot harder — because the dreaded and inevitable chat some, if not all, will have in Jerry Sloan's office won't happen until next week.

Before leaving for Los Angeles, the Jazz coach said the organization will not trim its roster until Utah returns from a three-game road trip that includes games tonight and Sunday at Staples Center and wraps up Tuesday in Portland.

Good news for some, perhaps. But the undrafted Matthews insisted he isn't worrying about potentially having his NBA aspirations dashed.

"What happens, happens," he said.

While he still has a chance — one that seems to be increasing, what with the combination of injuries to other small forwards and his own breakout play — Matthews will try to control the only thing he can.

That being, of course, his own actions. So far, that's been pretty good — in stretches, at least. He is averaging 9.0 points on 54.5-percent shooting.

"I always play hard ... I'm always going to leave everything on the court," he said. "I'm definitely excited to be in this position. I've started a couple of games for the Utah Jazz (as an) undrafted rookie. It feels good, but at the same time, I've never been the type to be content with anything."

That's why he's not gloating about his two double-digit-scoring games — or bragging about anything, for that matter.

"There's a lot of things that I feel like I can tone up," Matthews said. "The first thing that pops in my head from the last game is three turnovers and Jarryd Bayless got a lob."

When asked about Matthews' non-scoring pluses on Friday, Sloan responded about how the Marquette product — and all young players — need to concentrate on defense. The coach, who has complimented Matthews throughout the preseason, also wants to see the wing player crash the boards more. The athletic 6-foot-5 rookie has logged 77 minutes this preseason — by far the most of any of the players not under contract — but only has four rebounds.