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Dallas Mavericks: Wesley Matthews Has History On His Side

By Cole Mentzel

Nov 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Trail Blazers won 130-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Trail Blazers won 130-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Wesley Matthews will find himself in a new situation for the 2015-16 season. After rupturing his Achilles against the Dallas Mavericks in 2015, Matthews became a free agent. A few teams were not willing to sign him due to the seriousness of his injury. The Mavs, however, knew that they needed a shooting guard since Monta Ellis had agreed with the Indiana Pacers.

They also knew that they had Casey Smith, arguably the best trainer in the NBA.

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Eventually, Matthews signed a max deal with the Mavs, an agreement in which the training staff was most likely the motivating force. All of this occurred during the DeAndre Jordan saga and the Mavs even asked Matthews if he would rather sign elsewhere but he declined and decided to keep his commitment.

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Though he is coming off of a nasty injury, Matthews will have a great opportunity in Dallas. The Mavs have had some of the best and most dynamic shooting guards over the years and the position really seems to thrive.

Rolando Blackman is the best shooting guard that has ever played for the Mavs. His No. 22 hangs from the rafters and he was also a member of the 1988 team that pushed the Lakers to a Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals. You can find him around at most Mavs games and he is highly respected within the organization.

Blackman averaged 19.2 points per game in Dallas and was almost always known as the face of the franchise throughout his 11 seasons with the team.

Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel played with the Mavs in the early 2000s and were a part of some of the greatest offensive teams that Dallas has ever seen. Mark Cuban had just purchased the team and they had gotten used to winning at least 50 games per season. Van Exel was basically an earlier version of Jason Terry, often coming off the bench and giving the team a spark of energy.

Though Finley eventually went on to play for the Spurs, Mavs fans still remember him as a great player for the organization.

Jason Terry is possibly the most popular Dallas Mavericks player outside of Dirk due to his ability to fire up the fans and the team. If there was a night that Dirk wasn’t playing well, he always picked up the slack was instrumental in the Mavs run to the Finals in 2011.

All of his big games and big shots made an impact on the team and gave the fans something to cheer for even during the bad times. Most believe he should also have his number retired in Dallas someday.

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    • DeShawn Stevenson was another player who gave the Mavs a boost and his fierce style of play was something that fans really loved seeing. Monta Ellis, though he was only in the organization for two seasons, was one of the best offensive players the for the Mavs and he led the team in scoring on most nights.

    Though the impact ranges from player to player, all of these guys have something in common: they were great shooting guards during their time with the Mavs and all had success in one way or another.

    Wesley Matthews is one of the biggest free agency signings the Mavs have seen in a few years and his offense fits with his defense to provide any team with a lethal threat on both ends of the court.

    He will be following in the footsteps of great shooting guards that have already played in Dallas so if he is able to elevate his game once again, he will be put into the conversation with a few of the names mentioned above.

    Matthews has already said he will be ready for opening night against the Suns, which is something Mavs love. His “iron man” nickname has already showed and he looks like he is all in on the plan the franchise has for him. With a good group of core players around, he will be able to execute his game and join the ranks of players like Blackman, Finley and Terry in Dallas.

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