The Mavericks took an unusual step this season for a franchise that has been comprised of veterans for so many years -- embracing a youth movement, with players like Harrison Barnes, Yogi Ferrell and Nerlens Noel becoming key parts of the rotation while veterans like Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams left to chase a championship at the trade deadline.

But for one national analyst, if the Mavericks are truly committed to the rebuild then there will be another veteran playing in a different jersey next season -- shooting guard Wesley Matthews.

The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps wrote his postmortem on the Mavericks on Wednesday. And while Bontemps praised Matthews for his hard work and locker room character, he notes that the guard does not seem to fit into what Dallas' long-term plans should be.

"The question for Dallas is: What will the goal be for next season? Will it be to try to make the playoffs, or is it to continue to consolidate around the team's young pieces (including its upcoming draft pick) and go for another high pick in 2018, which is likely the more prudent long-term move?" Bontemps wrote. "Since Nowitzki is likely going to be in his final season, though, it's a path that seems less likely for Dallas to follow. Matthews will be a name to watch during the offseason, though, as one potential candidate to be moved if Dallas does decide to go with a youth movement."

While he notes that Matthews' stats have suffered since his Achilles tear in 2015, the national analyst thinks there would still be a market for him if Dallas were so inclined to trade him.

"Matthews is still a solid wing in a league where there aren't enough of them. This is why it will be curious to see what -- if anything -- Dallas chooses to do with him this summer," Bontemps wrote. "Teams that have cap space will undoubtedly be interested in someone like Matthews, who has one year plus a player option left on his contract for about $36 million total. It's a decent contract for a guy who is a good character guy, can knock down threes and provide solid defense on the perimeter, even if it's still more than he should be paying."

Removing Matthews' contract from the books would open up more possibilities for the Mavericks in free agency as currently the team only have $11.7 million in cap space with a projected $102 million cap.

Click here to read the full postmortem, which examines what Dallas can do with its draft pick and Nerlens Noel's free agency.