Mavericks forward Wesley Matthews has suffered a stress fracture in his right leg, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). According to Charania, Matthews will likely miss the rest of the 2017/18 season as he rests and rehabs that injury.
Matthews, in his third season in Dallas, averaged a modest 12.7 PPG in 63 games (33.8 MPG). While his scoring numbers with the Mavs haven’t matched the ones he put up in Portland before his Achilles tear, Matthews’ ’17/18 shooting numbers were an improvement over last year’s marks — he was a .406/.381/.822 shooter this season.
Technically, Matthews could become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he’s a virtual lock to exercise his player option for 2018/19. That option is worth $18,622,514, a figure Matthews wouldn’t match on the open market. The veteran sharpshooter was the subject of a few trade rumors leading up to this season’s deadline, and his expiring contract should make him easier to move once the new league year begins, so there’s no guarantee he’ll spend next season in Dallas.
In Matthews’ absence, Doug McDermott and Kyle Collinsworth are among the Mavs who could see a bump in playing time.
I still can’t believe they gave him this contract coming off of Achilles surgery
They actually increased his salary when they got shunned by Deandre Jordan.. He’s a good culture/locker room guy and his salary isn’t hampering the franchise long term. He will come off the books right as they begin to become competitive again