Dallas Mavericks player profile: Wesley Matthews

The Dallas Mavericks will be bringing back Wesley Matthews for one more year after he decided to opt-in to the final year of his contract. What can the Mavs expect from the sharpshooter this season, and what should we be ready for at his best and his worst?

When the Dallas Mavericks signed Wesley Matthews a few years ago, fans were excited and wanted to believe that we just got a great player. Some of us had some skepticism about the guy who is known for his work ethic and durability, but was just coming off an achilles tear.

Despite the recent major injury, most were hopeful that his shot would still be there. His defense was likely his most redeeming factor, but the Mavs needed shooting and this was supposed to be where he would thrive. We talked ourselves into believing we were getting a prime player, but it just wasn’t true.

Now, just a few years later, most of us are done with the version of Wesley Matthews that we got. He has been a shell of himself since the first day he walked in the gym and, although his work ethic has not changed, the injury took a big toll on his athleticism which slowed down his game just a little too much.

Now, he is the guy that even the front office wants to trade. His usefulness to the team doesn’t outweigh the money on his contract and, with the team trying to get younger, Matthews at 31 years old doesn’t fit the build. Most believe that if anyone will be traded before the deadline, it will be Matthews.

Whether he is traded or not, here are the potential highs and lows to expect from the wing in the upcoming season. As you will see, at this stage in his career, some things don’t change too much from year to year.

Highs

At his best, Matthews can still be a pretty solid player. He is no longer the great defender that he became in Portland, but his timing and understanding of the game still work out for him a lot of the time. His defense is a different brand, but he still averaged 1.2 steals per game last year. I would expect a similar output in the upcoming season.

The best part of Wes Matthews’ game at this point is definitely his ability to hit the three-pointer. Although his three-point average in Dallas is worse than it was for his entire career prior, he can still hit the long ball with some regularity. Last season he was closer to his career average and I expect that, with the offense not running through him much, it will stay strong this season.

Lows

Personally, I think that the worst part about Matthews game is his ball-handling. For some reason, Wes has gotten it in his head that he is a great ball-handler and should be controlling the ball in traffic. That is definitely not the truth and I wish that he would just never dribble the ball at all. He needs to focus more on catching and shooting.

The other thing to keep an eye on is his streakiness. Matthews can go on a tear where he hits a bunch of shots for a bunch of games, but he also goes into slumps quite a bit. I think he got better about this last year, but I still expect at least a 10 game stretch in which Matthews struggles to even shoot 25% from beyond the arc.

I am not the biggest Wesley Matthews fan, but I do know he has some strengths to go along with his weaknesses. Even still, I hope he does well for Dallas in the upcoming year and I am eager to see how he does with the new guys in the lineup.