re: Wesley Matthews wants to get PAID

$15m a year would put him right above Eric Gordon and right below Gordon Hayward and DWade.

I agree $15m is a little high for Matthews, but if he was healthy he could get that or get really close to that.

And Matthews does have a good bit of leverage in this... First off both he and Aldridge are free agents and Afflalo just opted out to become a free agent as well. Theyve got to keep at least 1 of Aldridge and Matthews and it seems like Aldridge is more likely to leave.

And the quality of play from the Blazers when they lost Matthews is another bargaining chip for Matthews. He is 1 of the better 3pt shooters in the NBA and is an elite defender, which is rare for a 3pt specialist shooting guard. They went 11-16 without him down the stretch. And he was called "the heart and soul" of the Blazers when he went down.

Portland is in a weird situation though... obviously Aldridge is the 1 you want to retain, but hes the 1 that seems more likely to leave. And Matthews is still a very good player, but is coming off a torn achilles and is wanting top $$$ contract. So what do you do, Portland? Really a tough situation for them.