Wesley Matthews has been one of the building pillars of the Dallas Mavericks, but as this trade deadline approaches, the team might just choose to shed the structure and start anew. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, who appeared as a guest of Nate Duncan's Dunc'd On podcast, the Mavs could part ways with Matthews if a team comes calling with a high offer in return.
“It is a change of position for [the Dallas Mavericks], because I think a year ago, they did look at Wesley Matthews as an untouchable. And he’s no longer untouchable,” said Stein. “But is anyone giving up a first-round pick for him? We’ve seen it, Blake Griffin just got traded and there was only one first-round pick involved. I mean, that tells you how hard it is to get a first-round pick [in this market].”
There is still value for Matthews, who was one of the first three-and-D specialists of the original era. Now in his ninth season, Matthews isn't the consistent scorer he once was during his days with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 31-year-old has been hovering around 40 percent from the field during the past three seasons, with his 3-point percentage taking a dip as well, shooting 36 percent the last two seasons and 37.5 percent this season through 52 starts for the team.
Yet Matthews could be one of the last two-way assets available to teams as the deadline approaches, making a desperation call likely to yield what the Mavs would take in return for him.
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