Portland-Bound Wesley Matthews Surprised Jazz Didn't Match

Until the very end, swingman Wesley Matthews thought the Utah Jazz would match the offer sheet put down on him last week.

But it didn't happen. And Matthews on Wednesday night became a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

"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.''

Matthews, undrafted out of Marquette, was in a position for a big payday after he averaged 9.4 points as a rookie and then became a restricted free agent. Matthews said that, had the Jazz made a "fair'' offer even if it was for less than the mid-level exception, he might have immediately re-signed with Utah before testing the market. He believed the Jazz were surprised he was able to land such a hefty offer sheet.



Share Since agreeing to sign the offer sheet last Saturday, Matthews said he wasn't leaning any particular way on what he wanted to occur.

"I just was going to see what happened,'' said Matthews, who couldn't sign a deal for next season that had a salary cap number for more than the mid-level exception of $5.765 million, although he actually will get $9 million overall next season due to a signing bonus that front-loaded the contract.

Matthews made the rookie minimum of $427,163 last season. Even Matthews' own father, former NBA guard Wes Matthews, had told FanHouse earlier this month he believed his son was a $3 million to $5 million player'' for next season.

Now that Matthews is with the Trail Blazers, he's fired up.

"I'm looking forward to it,'' said Matthews, who won't start at shooting guard for Portland due to Brandon Roy but could unseat Nicolas Batum as the starting small forward. "It's a great organization. Whether they want me to start or come off the bench, it's fine with me. I can be a defender for them.''

Matthews will make more money next season than Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft in which Matthews was undrafted. Griffin will pull down $5.36 million.

"I'm just happy for my family,'' said Matthews, who was raised by his mother, Pam Moore, and mentioned her and members of her family. "They've never had a payday like this before. But I don't play for the money.''

Matthews knows there will be naysayers claiming he's overpaid.

"I guess some people think that I was overpaid if they didn't match,'' Matthews said of the Jazz letting him go. "But I can't listen to that. But I'm going to keep working. That's why I'm going to the gym right now (in Milwaukee, where he played in college and near his home of Madison, Wis.) to work out.''

Matthews said he's determined to prove that Trail Blazers didn't make a mistake with the contract.

"I'm going to show them that I'm worth the money,'' said Matthews, who finished last season as Utah's starting shooting guard, and really helped his worth by averaging 13.2 points in 10 playoff games.

Meanwhile, the Jazz elected to go for a much cheaper option to replace Matthews. ESPN.com first reported the offer to Bell, 33, a 10-year veteran who is 10 years older than Matthews. Bell, known for his defense, has a career scoring average of 10.3. He played in just six games in an injury-riddled campaign last season with Charlotte and Golden State.

"I thought they might go with (Ronnie) Brewer,'' Matthews said of believing that the former Jazz guard would have been the most likely replacement for him if the Jazz didn't match the offer sheet.

While Matthews is excited about going to Portland, he wished Utah and its fans the best.

"They really embraced me there,'' Matthews said. "I wish them luck except when they play us. But (the Jazz) never made me an offer.''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson