Milwaukee Bucks: What could Wesley Matthews’ value be in free agency?
What Wesley Matthews decides to do with his player option for next season is one of the big questions facing the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason.
The Milwaukee Bucks may be back on the court sooner than expected, but some big questions have to be answered before that.
Of course, the weightiest decisions revolve around Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and his looming supermax extension offer as well as which avenues the Bucks will go down to improve their roster after flaming out in this year’s playoffs. Go on down the list of those important questions and the immediate future of one of their key rotation players, Wesley Matthews, will soon become a hot topic.
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Matthews’ 3-and-D services proved to be a snug fit in his Wisconsin homecoming last season and around the Bucks’ building blocks led by Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe.
But now, the 34-year-old is faced with what to do regarding his $2.6 million player option and depending on what he does, it’s one way the Bucks’ starting lineup and roster could look different to start next season.
In order for it to look different, though, means Matthews has to be confident that he can get a pay raise on the open market, whether it’s from the Milwaukee Bucks or elsewhere.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks ($$) recently published a piece projecting the salaries of all potential free agents this offseason by polling front office executives around the league. Within there, Matthews’ salary, under the disclaimer that the salary projection would be under a long-term deal, was projected to be from $4 to $6 million annually.
Additionally, The Athletic’s John Hollinger ($$) has been steadfast in predicting that Matthews will decline his player option for next season and return to free agency.
On the surface, potentially doubling up his average annual salary would be a no-brainer for someone like Matthews and being able to maximize his earnings, especially in the late stages of his NBA career.
The biggest caveat there, of course, is that Matthews made the bold decision to come to Milwaukee and do so on a veteran minimum deal, just after he completed his four-year, $70 million max deal that he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2015.
Whether Matthews has entered the phase of his career where he plays for the veteran mimimum for contending teams like he did last season with the Bucks is the big question. Even as we wait for the answer to that question, the former Golden Eagle showed that he plenty left to offer, especially for a team that wants to win at the highest level.
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Time will only tell whether he will choose to continue his Bucks stint this offseason and that makes what Matthews does with his player option and potential free agency something worth monitoring.