Armed with more cap space, the Kings will meet with free agent guard Wesley Matthews on Thursday, reports ESPN's Marc Stein.
Wesley Matthews will meet with Kings on Thursday, per report
The Kings will try to make their first big addition of the offseason.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sacramento made a cap-clearing move on Wednesday, sending out Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Nik Stauskas, a first round pick and the right to swap picks on two other years to the Philadelphia 76ers. Most believe they did this in order to pursue Matthews, Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo.
They will have a chance to make their pitch to the former Trail Blazers' shooting guard in a face-to-face meeting. Their hope is to convince Matthews Sacramento is a better destination than Dallas and Toronto, among other suitors. After their salary dump, the Kings have the cap room to offer Matthews the $15 million he is reportedly seeking, as well as a place in the starting lineup at the wing next to Rudy Gay.
Matthews was one of the league's best three-and-D wings, and in theory a perfect fit for a Kings team looking for some perimeter shooting to create space for DeMarcus Cousins to work inside. He also had a post game that prevented opponents from hiding weak defensive players on him, unlike other spot-up threats. The problem is Matthews is coming off an Achilles tendon tear and might not be the player he once was.
After sacrificing assets to create room to make additions, there’s a lot of pressure on the Kings to make a splash. As far as gambles go, Matthews seems like a safe one, past injury history and all. What remains to be seen is if he sees Sacramento as a fit.
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