KOC's Method of Negotiation

[Stifle Tower]

Hard to form an opinion on KOC's approach based on the little bit of information we get. KOC called Mathews agent the night of FA--that call probably set the stage for the process and who knows what was said in the call.

KOC also made an offer to Millsap. And Millsap's uncle/agent was "insulted." So rather than counter with a slightly higher number, they shopped the market. write4u needs to go back and look at the reports last year. Millsap's camp originally said he and Lee should get about the same, because their numbers were similar. And do you recall what Lee was asking for? $12M!!! The deal Portland gave Millsap actually ain't that bad. In comparison to other PF's, Millsap's value was probably around $6-$7M. He's getting $8 average over 5 years, which is actually starting him at $6.5M with a 10% raise each year.

RE: Matthews, I'm sure the Jazz would have gladly given Wesley a deal in the $3M-$4M dollar range on Day 1. Remember the QO is only a formality required by the NBA to retain his rights. It's really not an "offer"; who has signed for the QO? And where's the accountability in this from Wesley and his agent, Before signing the deal, they could have phoned KOC and Greg and siad, "we're about ready to sign an offer sheet from Portland for the full MLE, but if you'll give us $25M/5 years, Wesley will sign a contract with the Jazz because he prefers the situaution he's in."

Wesley went for the big bucks and hoped Utah would match. They didn;t and now he has a bit of buyer's remorse thinking about what he's going to be missing out on.

But I'm not holding it against him. If I were going to be a the Jazz/Portland came, I'd be on my feet giving him a standing "O" when he stepped on the court. He's everything that's right about sports. But allowing an UFA with 1 year in the league to sign a MLE deal is some of what's wrong with the CBA. No way should he be making 50% more than the #1 pick in his draft class.

 

[Hopper]

If the Jazz truly meant that Wes was their priority they should have offered him the MLE. The Jazz were being cheap and they got burned..

Heh, how are they cheap, and could they "get burned" by not offerin the MLE? They can still match that now, or coulda if they wanted.

 

[billyshelby]

When you boil everything down about this story, the 'fault', to the extent there is one, lies at Matthews feet. This has nothing to do with Matthews' character which is pretty unassailable. But his job is to first communicate to his agent what it is he's looking for. If he was truly serious about signing with the Jazz, his agent would have got past refusals to discuss any parameters outside the maximum amount of money he could get before the signing period. Then, when he found an offer, and it included not only the Max but a poison pill provision, he should obviously have contacted the Jazz before signing it if, indeed, he really would have taken a lesser offer to play with us. How could Matthews really think the Jazz might not balk at that offer? He knew the Jazz just came off a year when they went into the tax. He knew they had a tax/cap situation for this season. And he knew his agent wouldn't discuss lesser contracts the week before. You couldn't engineer your way out of town any better than that.

 

[One Brow]

RE: Matthews, I'm sure the Jazz would have gladly given Wesley a deal in the $3M-$4M dollar range on Day 1. Remember the QO is only a formality required by the NBA to retain his rights. It's really not an "offer"; who has signed for the QO?

Players who don't think they are respected by their home team have done this, because the next year is usually unrestricted. Olowankandi comes to mind.

 

[Hopper]

When you boil everything down about this story, the 'fault', to the extent there is one, lies at Matthews feet.

You just don't git it, eh? If ya could trys to blame someone, and one is part of the Jazz while the other is part of any other NBA team, well, then, sez no mo: It gotta be the Jazz fault.

 

[Dread]

so after everything is over, Wesley says, who knows, if they had given me an offer I would have accepted on the spot. and you say oh my god, Wesley would have signed with us.

Grow the hell up. He would have compared that offer against others and taken the better deal.

Ahhhhrrrgg, I hate this thread because I thought I was out and you dragged me back in. Now I've signed up again and I will not be able to control myself when I see total crap arguments like yours. I hate you and you are making me cry. Feel bad, I demand it.

 

[mrob]

If the Jazz truly meant that Wes was their priority they should have offered him the MLE. The Jazz were being cheap and they got burned..

It certainly was high priority for the Jazz to get Matthews back, but that doesn't mean they were going to overpay him. Pretty much everyone agrees that Portland made a ridiculous offer for Matthews. Even his agent seemed genuinely surprised by the offer. The Jazz weren't cheap. They had an idea of what they wanted to pay and maybe were even willing to go a little higher to retain him, but Portland's offer was not even in the ballpark. Utah did not get burned. Portland made an offer that is bad for their team. They made an offer that does not improve their team anywhere near as much as $35 million should. They made an offer that I believe they will regret (that is, if they don't already).

I don't care how great you think Wesley Matthews is or if you think he's going to improve. That offer was out of whack with reality and it would have been a mistake on the scale of AK's max offer had we matched it.

 

[gothapotamus]

My nipples look like milkduds.