Free agent Wes Matthews still seeking big deal despite injury

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

When Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews tore his left Achilles tendon on March 5 in a game against the Dallas Mavericks, it didn't take long for the natural question about his uncertain future to surface: what might this mean for his free agency prospects?

Would teams have less interest in the 28-year-old who was such a pivotal two-way player in Portland, or would they perhaps downplay their interest as a way of landing him on a discounted deal? And with Blazers teammate LaMarcus Aldridge so widely believed to be strongly considering the notion of playing somewhere in Texas, was there a way that a team like the San Antonio Spurs or the Mavericks could get Matthews first as a way of raising Aldridge's interest in following his beloved teammate?

With the wheeling and dealing set to begin on July 1, those answers still remain to be seen. But this much is clear: Matthews has no plans on being any team's free agency bargain because of his injury.

According to a person with knowledge of Matthews' situation, he is seeking a multi-year deal that pays approximately $15 million annually. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of such discussions.

Matthews has already returned to basketball activities, and he is expected to be fully healthy and ready to play at the start of the regular season. He is on track to be active once training camps begin in October, but is likely to ease his way into the preseason. Matthews, a strong defender who averaged a career-high 16.4 points per game two seasons ago and 15.9 points per game in the 2014-15, has been playing at an All-Star caliber level for quite some time now and is confident that he'll return to that level next season.

The prospect of Matthews staying in Portland certainly remains, especially considering the Blazers are at risk of losing both Matthews and fellow shooting guard Arron Afflalo. According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, Afflalo – who has a player option for next season paying him $7.7 million – plans to opt out of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent.

Matthews' affinity for Portland is well-chronicled, and it's certainly a two-way street with the team's rabid fanbase. Matthews, a San Antonio native who was undrafted out of Marquette in 2009 and has played in Portland since 2010, is the franchise's all-time leader in three-pointers made (826) and three-pointers attempted (2096) while ranking eighth in three-point percentage (.394).

While Matthews made $7.2 million last season, it's no surprise that he's looking to double his salary. Not only has he proven to be one of the game's most reliable and consistent all-around players, but Matthews is well aware that the soaring salary cap means the financial landscape will be changing dramatically in the coming years.

Because of the NBA's nine-year, $24 billion television rights deal with ESPN and TNT that begins in the 2016-17 season, the cap that is projected to be at $67.1 million next season will jump to $89 million and $108 million in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively. For players like Matthews who could can sign for a maximum of five years with their current team and four with any other, the prospect of seeing players of a similar caliber getting significantly larger deals these next few summers is, quite predictably, not appealing.