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Optimistic Jazz Math

Actually, no. Drafted 1st-rounders have no bargaining power. Salaries are slotted and raises are controlled by the CBA.

So looking into the magic crystal ball, KOC just KNEW what 29 other GM's did not: that Wesley Matthews would be that one in a million player who goes from undrafted player to starter in half a season.

Undrafted players...if they make a team, usually don't have their contracts even guaranteed until the deadline. Wes just kept getting better as the season progressed. And kudos to him for the HUGE contract. Outside of Portland, you'll find 29 GM's who thought the kind of money Wesley got was absurd. Name the last NBA player to do what Wes did? There are none. No one has ever gone undrafted, then signed a contract for that amount of money the next offseason.

In hindsight, given Utah's financial constraints, had the Jazz matched the offer for Matthews, another player would have needed to be dumped. And in that situation, it may have required giving UP a pick (just like moving Hayward's salary required Maynor to be included). I like Matthews; I wish he were still on the Jazz. But I'm solidly behind KOC and Greg for not awarding a 1/2 season starter that kind of a contract.

So how does us demanding a 2 year TEAM option hurt us in any way, shape or form? Give him 1 year guaranteed, and if he pans out, we get him for 2 more years. If he doesn't, it's sianara baby. Simple.

You don't think that ANY undrafted rookie wouldn't jump at the chance? They have no bargaining power.
 
So how does us demanding a 2 year TEAM option hurt us in any way, shape or form? Give him 1 year guaranteed, and if he pans out, we get him for 2 more years. If he doesn't, it's sianara baby. Simple.

You don't think that ANY undrafted rookie wouldn't jump at the chance? They have no bargaining power.

Dude. You're light years away from getting this.
 
We should have offered him before he was signed -- the first time. That is the model I suggest we use going forward.

I, for one, would like to know how JohnnyClutch is wide of the mark on this proposition. I'll admit that I'm less knowledgeable about these kinds of issues than many on this board.

On the face of things, I'm not a big fan of the one-year deal. If needed, I'd inflate my proposal for the guaranteed year by as much as 10-15% percent (depending on the circumstance) in order to get the second-year team option.

Perhaps there was something in the Matthews case that stood in the way of such a transaction? For example, I can't remember when his deal became guaranteed, but perhaps it wasn't until he and his agent saw that he was likely good enough to ink another contract at year's end with more guaranteed money, and therefore that any contract with a team-option was less desirable.

If you want to make this conversation more topical, then perhaps you can explain how the Jazz wouldn't be better served by having Howard on a deal with a team option for a second year. I'm sure Howard and his agent preferred a one-year deal -- so that he could play himself into more guaranteed money -- but how much more money would we have needed to offer him THIS YEAR in order for him to consider such a deal? This is important because, if healthy, he has already shown himself to be a bargain, and will almost assuredly sign for much more than the value of this contract.

I hope I've been clear.
 
I, for one, would like to know how JohnnyClutch is wide of the mark on this proposition.

If you want to make this conversation more topical, then perhaps you can explain how the Jazz wouldn't be better served by having Howard on a deal with a team option for a second year.

https://webfiles.uci.edu/lcoon/cbafaq/salarycap.htm#Q51

•Team Options give the team the right to invoke the option. There can be only one option year (except in the case of rookie scale contracts).

•Options can be included in any multiyear contract, but ETOs are allowed only with five or six year contracts.
 
For Wes to get an extension it would have had to be an Early Bird extension. The deadline for that this year is Jan. 25th, and I presume it was the same in the previous CBA. There is no negotiation after that point. And it would have been totally illogical for the Jazz to offer Wes any kind of multiyear commitment in January. They waited until January just to guarantee his deal.

KOC handled the situation the same way every other GM would have. In the end, Wes was overpaid by Portland and KOC smartly didn't match.
 
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