Wesley Mathews
Even now, nearly 10 years after the fact, the Jazzland masses get soft, fuzzy feelings when they think about Wesley Matthews‘ lone season in Utah. He may be the team’s ultimate underdog story; a guy who went from being undrafted to starting, banging down Js and locking up some talented offensive players for a playoff team as a rookie.
Next to Donovan Mitchell, he’s probably the team’s best rookie performer of the last decade.
Fast-forward to now and he’s a wily vet. The mileage on his tires and an Achilles rupture in 2015 have slowed him a bit, but he’s still a plus defender, a high-IQ guy and a capable 3-point shooter.
Last year, he caught on with the Indiana Pacers after jumping around the Association and was a huge addition after Victor Oladipo went down. Matthews started all 23 of his games in Indy, played more than 30 minutes a night and averaged 11 points and three dimes per game while hitting 37 percent from three.
In a hypothetical return to Salt Lake City, he wouldn’t be asked to do near as much for the Jazz, but could certainly be counted on to step up and do so in a pinch. There will probably be a litany of contenders attempting to bring the unrestricted free agent into the fold.