Dallas Mavericks: Wesley Matthews Will Live Up To His Contract

The Dallas Mavericks were criticized for giving Wesley Matthews a max contract last summer, but after a year with the team, the deal looks promising.

The Dallas Mavericks had to make some bold moves after missing out on DeAndre Jordan last summer. With no superstar left on the market, the team had to make sure they secured a high-level free agent.

That’s where Wesley Matthews came into play. The former Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard was interested in finding a new team during the summer and had been linked to the Mavs early on in free agency, when the thought of Jordan was still a reality.

Matthews was coming off of a season where he had averaged 15.9 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game.

While his play was as good as ever and his all-around game was intriguing, Matthews was also recovering from a torn Achilles that he had suffered against the Mavs just four months earlier.

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It was obvious why teams were hesitant to spend big money on the guard as players like Chauncey Billups and Kobe Bryant were perfect examples of how the injury can damage a career.

With that being said, the Mavs, along with the Sacramento Kings, became the front-runners for Matthews.

Before his decision had been made, the Kings offered Matthews a four-year, $64 million deal, but being the loyal player that he is, he stayed with his top option of Dallas for four years and $57 million.

Once Jordan was off the table, the Mavs bumped Matthews’ total to $70 million, giving him a max contract.

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Why would the Mavs give a player max if he was recovering from a serious injury? Why would they take a big chunk out of their free agent flexibility by putting so much hope in an ankle that might or might not pan out in favor of the Mavs?

The simple answer at that point in time was that the Mavs desperately needed another productive player to add to their core of Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. They couldn’t end another summer with no flashy acquisitions.

As Matthews continued to recover throughout the summer, he vowed to be back in time for the season opener against the Phoenix Suns, which would mean roughly eight months of time between injury and his first in-game action.

Nicknamed “Iron Man,” Matthews lived up to his word, playing in the final game of the preseason and logging nine points and and three rebounds in 26 minutes of action on opening night.

It took Matthews until mid-January before he began to consistently play back-to-backs, but he wasn’t showing signs of a player that had suffered an Achilles injury in the same calendar year as he averaged 11.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per game through the month of January.

By that time he had already impressed, with nights where he scored 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 36 points with 10 three-pointers and 28 points on 10-17 shooting.

Matthews certainly wasn’t the same player he had been in Portland, but he was not suffering from any type of setback considering the surgery and offseason rehab he had gone through.

Towards the end of January and through the first couple weeks of February, Matthews went through a rough period, where he scored double-digits in just two out of 10 games.

Then he kicked his game back up in time for a run to secure a playoff spot, averaging 35.6 minutes per game and becoming more involved in the success of the team.

Once the playoffs rolled around the Mavs were faced with the tough task of playing the Oklahoma City Thunder, Matthews turned his defensive play up to the elite level. He had bad scoring nights in the first two games of the series, but forced Kevin Durant into shooting a combined 14-for-48.

Though the Mavs went on to lose the next three games after that, Matthews was a force on both ends of the court, providing solid play and keeping the team within striking distance at times.

This summer won’t be stressful for the 29-year-old as he is locked up for the next three seasons with his paycheck increasing every year. However, you can ask some questions regarding Matthews’ play.

Did we see his best play already for the Mavs or is there more to come? Is he going to truly live up to the max contract he was given?

To start off, I would definitely give Matthews credit as playing like one of the best players on the team in 2015-16.

Sure, his averages (12.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.9 APG) were the worst they had been since his rookie season, but there was reason for that in the fact that he was basically recovering throughout the year.

Matthews is one of those rare types of players that provides both offense and defense as well as the determined mentality that is vital for any locker room.

His emotions on the floor got the home crowd into games while his reassuring quotes after games put things into perspective as the season rolled on.

Towards the end of the regular season and the beginning of the postseason, Matthews looked like different player. The intensity level rose as the games became more important and he provided a glimpse of his Portland days in critical moments.

I believe he will carry that into next season. With an injury-free season and his first healthy summer in two years, Matthews will have the time to work on improving himself in what is considered to be the prime of his career.

It just wouldn’t be like Matthews to to do anything other than trend upward. It’s a part of his game and it’s a part of his mindset.

Next season will be pivotal for the Mavs, whether they attract a star free agent or not.

While all eyes will certainly be focused on Dirk Nowitzki and whether or not key free agents (like Chandler Parsons) re-sign or not, it’s a given that Matthews is set to come back even better than before and provide the Mavs with a stronger, more energized element to their overall game.

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Though it wasn’t a popular idea before the season, I can safely say that Wesley Matthews will earn every cent given to him throughout the years of his max contract. That’s just the type of player that he is.