Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 potential targets in 2019 NBA free agency

1. Wesley Matthews

The Thunder are no strangers to pursuing Wesley Matthews as a free agent.

Upon being bought out by the New York Knicks on Feb. 7, Oklahoma City immediately showed interest in signing the veteran guard to shore up its guard rotation going into the final stretch of the season.

Presti, a generally cryptic public speaker who tends to hold his cards close to his chest, mentioned Matthews’ name multiple times in his season-ending exit interview the the media. From all the clues, the Thunder were very interested in signing Matthews back in February.

Don’t expect that to change come June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

Matthews is nearly an exact fit for what Oklahoma City is looking for: a good-sized wing (6’5″, 220 pounds), can play multiple positions (shooting guard, small forward and even some power forward), is an elite shooter (career 38.2 percent 3-point shooter, including 42.6 percent from the corners), a bulldog defender and has a fair amount of playoff experience (36 career playoff games).

While the Thunder will most likely make a strong push for the veteran wing, they will hardly be the only team to do so.

Every NBA team is interested in adding more shooting to its roster. Matthews played well for the Indiana Pacers down the stretch of the season. The Golden State Warriors may lose Klay Thompson to free agency, and if they don’t, he will be rehabbing a torn ACL for most of the season. The list goes on and on.

The Thunder’s best chance at signing Matthews will be to offer him their full Mid-Level Exception and let him play in the starting lineup if he prefers to do so.