Per a report from the 5 Reasons Sports Network, the Miami Heat are expected to have interest in Milwaukee Bucks wing Wesley Matthews this offseason.
The discussions surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason have revolved on who they bring in to help their chase for an NBA title next season.
Yet not much speculation has revolved around who they could lose in free agency with the impending free agents they have. While he’s not yet officially a free agent, given his $2.6 million player option for next year, Wesley Matthews easily stands as the biggest player of note in this regard and suitors are starting to emerge into the conversation.
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Per a report from the 5 Reasons Sports Network, the Heat have interest in Matthews by signing him to their midlevel exception to this offseason, along with Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap.
Of course, to do such a move requires Matthews to decline his player option for next year, which has been a decision that’s been widely expected from outside observers.
While we wait for Matthews’ decision and whenever that is slated to take place with the newly arranged dates and timeline, the Heat stand as one of many potential suitors for Matthews if he were to go back into the open market.
Depending on what he does with his player option, Wesley Matthews stands as the biggest free agent the Milwaukee Bucks could have this offseason.
Of course, the significance of Matthews’ presence on the Bucks roster is two-fold, given his ties to Wisconsin and being a Madison native. But more than that, though, the 34-year-old proved to be a stable cog within the Bucks’ foundation and starting lineup all throughout the 2019-20 season after having signed a two-year, veteran minimum deal last offseason.
Matthews’ ‘3-and-D’ services were welcomed within their wing rotation, even as his streaky shooting led to him averaging a career-low 7.4 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting from three. Still, Matthews’ brand of physical defense slotted right in the Bucks’ system and eased the burden of their more upfront, foundational pieces like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, etc.
As the Bucks brace for a large turnover on the wing with the likes of Sterling Brown, Pat Connaughton and Kyle Korver all entering free agency, having the security of Matthews on the roster would be reassuring, especially going into a critical 2020-21 season.
That’s provided that Matthews is still in Milwaukee, of course, and makes his decision on his option all that more intriguing. If the Bucks are serious about having Matthews on the wing, it may require them to use either one of their midlevel or bi-annual exceptions to do so, given the expected competition that may come from him possibly entering free agency.
While the Heat would like to dip back into their Marquette connection amid having to taking care of their own free agents, Matthews still remains a Buck for now. We’ll just have to see what he plans on doing with his player option when that decision comes.