Better article about Wes:
Kragthorpe: Matthews’ unlikely story just keeps getting betterNot surprisingly, Wesley Matthews was one of the first players on the court Monday, well before the basketball camp officially started.
Even if it is his own camp.
The extra effort is exactly how Matthews worked and played himself into this situation, of conceivably making more money in the coming season than any other second-year player in the NBA.
He’s not content with having produced one of the top five rookie seasons in Jazz history — maybe even the best ever, factoring in his unlikely background.
His summer’s theme: There’s more where that came from. While his future is somewhat uncertain as free agency begins Thursday, the possibilities are much more promising than Matthews ever could have imagined last summer. Then, he was auditioning for the Jazz and Sacramento and wondering if he would end up playing overseas.
The guy sitting on the floor, propped against the bleachers with his legs outstretched as his three-day camp was about to begin at Brighton High School, is now in a nice position and deservedly so. About the only way his debut could have gone better is if his tip-in attempt as the buzzer sounded had succeeded in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
A victory may only have extended the series by one game, but it would have further rewarded Matthews for everything he achieved as a rookie. That play would have served as the perfect illustration for his season: seemingly coming out of nowhere and positioning himself to make an impact.
He’s not dwelling on that moment, saying he’s moving on to “bigger and better things.”
That’s his way of saying he’s not satisfied, and won’t be — regardless of what a new contract may bring.
“I think I’ve got a lot to prove, a lot to offer, and I love getting better,” he said.
That’s what the Jazz have to love about him. Presumably, they will back up their belief in him with a bunch of money. It is either an ultimate irony or a just reward that because he was undrafted, Matthews is exempt from the usual three-year wage scale and could sign for more money than even a No. 1 overall pick can earn in his second season.
His status is complicated, but the bottom line is the Jazz may end up spending roughly $5 million annually to keep Matthews, a restricted free agent.
That’s staggering, in the sense that Matthews was thrilled to play for the league minimum of $457,588. It is also legitimate, considering what he meant to the Jazz as a starting guard who averaged 9.4 points in 82 games.
“Now, to make an enormous amount of money by anybody’s standards is just unbelievable and it is surreal,” Matthews said, “but I’m more excited for my family, to take care of them.”
His mother and grandmother, who primarily raised him, educated him well enough to know that the NBA draft is just the beginning, not the end. That’s his message to a former college teammate who last week became the last player picked in the first round.
When you ask Matthews’ reaction to the selection of “Hayward,” be specific. He’s very happy for Marquette University’s Lazar Hayward, who went to Minnesota. As for that other Hayward taken in the first round, Matthews is not shaken by the Jazz’s choice of Butler’s Gordon Hayward at No. 9, even though they play the same wing positions.
“I don’t think that affects me at all,” Matthews said. “We do completely different things. He’s a good talent, and I’ll be curious to see how he develops.”
The Jazz can only hope Hayward’s growth resembles Matthews’ first-year path, from a much different starting point.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/49841107-87/matthews-jazz-hayward-season.html.csp
