Mavericks wing Wesley Matthews has officially exercised the player option on his contract for the 2018/19 season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The final year on Matthews’ four-year deal with Dallas will pay him a salary of $18,622,514.
The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as we heard just last week that Matthews intended to exercise his option. He would have had little chance of matching or exceeding that $18MM+ salary if he had opted out and tested the free agent market.
Matthews, 31, appeared in 63 games for the Mavs in 2017/18, averaging 12.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.7 APG with a .406/.381/.822 shooting line. His season was cut short by a fractured fibula — he sustained the injury on March 10 and didn’t return before season’s end. However, Matthews confirmed earlier this month that he has been medically cleared to resume full basketball activities, so he should be back to 100% for the start of training camp in the fall.
The Mavs reportedly explored the possibility of moving Matthews at February’s trade deadline, but their asking price was high — the club was said to be seeking a first-round pick, which was unrealistic given the veteran’s modest production and his looming $18MM option.
Still, while Matthews may never replicate the numbers he posted in Portland earlier in his career, he has been a solid three-point shooter and defender during his time with Dallas, and could become more appealing as a trade chip now that he’ll be on an expiring contract. It will be interesting to see if the rebuilding Mavs revisit the trade market for Matthews during the offseason.
Matthews is the second player to formally pick up a player option for 2018/19, joining Jeremy Lin, as our tracker shows.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
He would have been out of his mind to not opt in because no one was paying him 18 million. At least Dallas can move forward with him and Smith Jr and focus on building the 4-5 position in the draft. If I was Dallas I would draft Wendell Carter Jr, he will be a solid two way player and play both ends. Slot him at the 5 and maybe try and make an offer for Randle or Gordon to be the 4.
Smith Jr
Matthews
Barnes
Gordon or Randle
Wendell
They aren’t drafting Wendell
He would fit in quite nicely but I could definitely see them going for Bagley.
He’ll be moved by the trade deadline
It’s possible, will be hard to move that contract though. He has 1 year left though right so he’ll def be moveable since his contract would come off the books.
Trade him for Whiteside if you don’t acquire a big with the lottery pick. Seth Curry is better anyways
In other news,s**t stinks…