Leverage Against Wesley Matthews Gone for the Mavericks

Mavericks lose leverage against Wesley Matthews with Danny Green‘s deal to stay with Spurs

The Dallas Mavericks sat down with unrestricted shooting guard Wesley Matthews when the free agent frenzy began, but it’s been reported that the two sides still have some negotiating to do.

Matthews, 28, is seeking an annual salary of $15 million, but the Mavericks had something a little less in mind, starting negotiations at $12 million per.

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Monta Ellis is gone and the Mavericks need a quality replacement, so it stands to reason that they’d be willing to increase that amount to land someone they clearly prioritize. Now it appears they will have to do just that.

The Mavericks presumably had used their pursuit of fellow “3-and-D” shooting guard Danny Green as leverage against Matthews, but with his deal to stay with the San Antonio Spurs that advantage has gone out the window.

Danny Green staying with Spurs according to @Chris_Broussard. 4yrs, $45 million deal.
— The Smoking Cuban (@thesmokingcuban) July 1, 2015

The good news is that Green’s deal is actually very reasonable, and can be used as a measuring stick for Matthews. Then again, Green signing with the Spurs on such a bargain deal is really bad for the Mavericks. Even if they get Matthews, a division rival was able to retain a key cog without sacrificing much cap space. It’s possible now that they sign LaMarcus Aldridge without having to part ways with any other key assets – they just traded Tiago Splitter to the Hawks.

Here’s hoping that nobody else approaches the $15 million mark for Matthews, coming off of a ruptured achilles tendon, because the Mavericks don’t want to pay it but have no leverage or high-quality alternatives now that Green is off the market.

Next: Potential Mavericks Target Mike Dunleavy Stays in Chicago

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