Comments about ‘Utah Jazz: Wesley Matthews thankful for time in Utah’

Good luck to you Wesley Matthews...you'd be a solid starter someday...

This is a sad story, you had a great future here, you may make more money but I think you are going to go backward, you are a great player but you aren't going to knock off Roy and the others, have a good time on the bench. You can work all you want and the result will be the same, too bad sports has become all about money now. Without the Jazz you would be in Europe now, I guess its all about taking the money and running.

I think he expected that the Jazz would match...and probably didn't know much about salary cap issues the team was facing...wished he worked the deal with the Jazz by himself...instead of a sly sports agent...who will do nothing but to promote his client to the highest bidder...it is sad that players hire these agents...when they can negotiate on their own...they may not get the endorsements and what not...but still the salary they'll earn playing basketball is enough...this is why i am a HUGE fan of John Stockton...doesn't demand a lot of money...loyal to the team who drafted him...even when other teams offered him a much higher salary...he still opted to play for the team that gave him the opportunity to play...guess that's what's missing today...the desire to just play ball...proving yourself that you are the best on the floor...with or without the million dollar paycheck...

good riddins bye bye ride the pine enjoy watching Roy play buy a large house with a pool

I can't blame Wesley for going to Portland. They made an offer that most (all) of us would find to hard to refuse. NBA players might have 10 good years to play and make money. The potential for career ending injury is great and so it shouldn't surprise anyone that he did what he did. Let's thank Wesley for his great contribution to last year's team and wish him well for the future. And, of course, treat like an enemy when he comes to ESA.

You're right Wesley, your faith has taken you to where you are. Thanks for the great job you did with the Jazz; you were fun to watch. All the best to you in Portland.

Actually the Jazz could have done better job trying to keep him. Somewhat in between he ended up getting from the Blazers and what Utah paid to Raja could have worked for Wesley to stay. He was a great fit for the Jazz and so far he can only believe the Blazers have some yet unclear "plan" for him - all that could have been a good reason for Matthews to take less money for opportunity to stay on the right track. Reportedly offering him a minimum again, less then the Jazz offered to Fesenko, was a joke. So seemed to be some sort of a mistake by the Jazz to let the story develop the way it did. If you let him get an offer like that, it is sure too late and impossible to match. Wesley is sure worth an extra $1.5 mln. annually over Raja who has not played for a long time and is by far less sure contributor as of now. Anyway, hopefully things will get settled for the benefit of both Wesley and the Jazz.

Please stop criticizing Matthews for taking this contract. Anyone is his position would have done the same thing.

So what if he is thankful for his time in Utah. He's gone. Bye.

A good agent does what his client wants, and his client's desires are all that matter to him. A second year player who was undrafted the year before would be wise to go after the money because nobody knows what tomorrow brings. Wesley is a quintessential Jazz player, hustling, working hard, saying and believing the right things, playing TOUGH defense. If the Jazz had five of him in various sizes they would win 60 games a year. I hate to see him go, but to compete against the best in the league, the Jazz probably are better off temporarily with Raja Bell and at a far lower cost, which allows them to keep other good players on the team. Thanks, Wesley, for working so hard as a Jazzman, and good luck in your future. We hope to get you back someday. Your parents should be proud of the man they have for a son. The way you have handled yourself has been exemplary.

This is his job. How many of you would be "loyal" to the first company who offered you a job if another company offered you a 2000% pay raise?

The way the Blazers went after Milsap and Matthews makes me think, "Hey, somebody out there really knows basketball." Some of the idiotic talking heads on sports shows around here can't think past points while the real experts realize how important rebounding, defense, hustle and teamwork are in winning. One good result of Portland's aggressive, front-loaded efforts to pick up the two M's is that the Jazz won't ever have to feel guilty if they find it necessary to go after a Portland free agent. We'll front load the heck out of any offer to any Blazer we target.

Matthews is a class-act...I really enjoyed him in Utah. And anyone that says he should have taken less money to be with the jazz is stupid! No one in their right minds turns that kind of contract down. If Portland wouldn't have offered such a ridiculous contract he would've stayed with the jazz for a lot less, because I think he wanted to stay here. He is a loyal guy like Stockton, but not crazy enough to turn down that kind of contract in this day and age.

Matthews was a stud and I hope he continues to prove everyone wrong and becomes even more of a stud!

Can you say Blue Edwards, can you say Shandon Anderson, can you say Carlos Arroro, can you say Russel whatever his first name was and the list goes on. Sloan takes marginal players makes them look better than they are because of his genius, they leave and bomb. Wes you will soon be added to that list.

Too bad it wasn`t miles that went instead of Matthews,we are stuck with miles,fact is, no team wants him

Too bad it wasn`t miles that went instead of Matthews,we are stuck with miles,fact is, no team wants him

Who in their right mind would turn down $34 million? That's like saying "No thanks" to someone offering you a winning Powerball ticket. Duh! Take the money and run! I'm extremely happy for Wesley Matthews. I wish him good luck as an individual even as I wish bad luck to his new team, which I hate with a renewed passion now.

w.mathews=most overrated jazzman ever.
at the end of the day, he's still not athletic enough to finish at the rim, the only reason why he was thought to play good defense was because korver was who he was compared to, but he's not a lock down defender and not long enough to be one.
is he worth the full midlevel, no no and no.

Re The Great Houdini : Your at it again aren't you, ragging on CJ. It is amazing how much you hate him.

Matthews indicated that he took the money for his family. He plays basketball for himself. Your first loyalty is always to your family. Good move Wes. Hope you continue your upward progression. Will miss you in Utah.