One of the key free agents of the last NBA offseason was Wesley Matthews. The former Portland Trail Blazer had just had a phenomenal season cut short by an Achilles tear. As a result, there was much intrigue about how many teams would be interested in the shooting guard and how much money he would get. In the end, the Dallas Mavericks gave Matthews a hefty deal to join the team.
However, Michael Grange of Sportsnet is reporting that the Mavs may not have been Matthews’ first choice. According to Grange, Matthews “badly wanted” to join the Toronto Raptors during the offseason. The Raptors were also interested in the great three-and-d player, but in the end, his injury concerns were too much for the team:
Matthews was still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The idea of their marquee free agent signing showing up to his first press conference in a walking boot was one the Raptors couldn’t quite get their heads around.
The Raptors eventually moved on and signed forward DeMarre Carroll who is now out an extended amount of time with a knee injury. Due to Carroll’s injury, hindsight may say that the Raps made a poor decision. Matthews is having a decent season as he continues to adjust to playing high-level basketball again while Carroll will not be able to contribute for potentially two months. However, Carroll has been very good for the Raps when he has played and his injury is probably an easier one to come back from than Matthews’. It seems that the course of action taken by both players and teams was the best for all parties involved. However, that will hinge mostly on the health of both Matthews and Carroll.
