The New York Knicks acquired veteran guard Wesley Matthews from the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday afternoon — the same deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. Whether or not Matthews, who's playing on an expiring contract, will remain with New York for the remainder of this season remains to be seen. If he's made available again, there is already one team interested in his services, according to a report from ESPN's Ian Begley.
The Knicks have heard from at least one team interested in trading for veteran Wes Matthews, league sources told ESPN. If the Knicks don’t trade Matthews, he’d be a candidate for a buyout. His contract expires after this season.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 1, 2019
Matthews, now 32 years of age, is an experienced player who can play at shooting guard or small forward. The former Marquette Golden Eagle made 44 appearances with the Mavericks this season (all starts), racking up averages of 13.1 points on 41.4 percent shooting from the field (38.0 percent from beyond the arc), 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and just under one steal (0.8) in 29.8 minutes per outing.
New York is scheduled to face the Boston Celtics on Friday night, but Matthews will be held out. He could make his debut with the Knicks in Sunday's game (vs. Memphis), but the team may choose to keep him sidelined in hopes of striking a deal.
Newest Knicks Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, and Wes Matthews won't be active or playing in New York against the Celtics tonight. Not sure how the Knicks lineup will look without them but I'd say it's fair to put them as underdogs against the Celtics.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) February 1, 2019
If the Knicks are indeed looking to deal Matthews, they'll need to act quickly, as the Feb. 7 trade deadline is approaching fast. Either way, New York cleared quite a bit of cap space in the Porzingis trade.
I would circle DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews as two potential buyout players to keep an eye on. Players need to be waived by March 1 to become playoff eligible.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 31, 2019
Friday night's Knicks-Celtics game is scheduled to tip at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.