As Wesley Matthews was weighing his free agency options recently, Russell Westbrook and Paul George tried to recruit the 10-year veteran to the Thunder.
Matthews was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the New York Knicks a few weeks ago in the deal involving Kristaps Porzingis and eventually agreed to a contract buyout with the Knicks on Thursday.
Once Matthews officially became a free agent, he reportedly had interest from several teams, including the Thunder, but the 6-foot-5 guard ultimately agreed to join the Indiana Pacers.
Matthews officially signed with the Pacers on Sunday and told reporters in Indianapolis that he had a few options to choose from as several players from around the league recruited him, as noted by Scott Agness of The Athletic.
Matthews has established himself as a player that can shoot and defend at a high level and appeared to be a good fit for the Thunder but he apparently saw a better fit with the Pacers, despite the recruiting efforts of Westbrook and George.
The two Thunder players have gone to work for the team in the past on the recruitment trail as they were said to be key in Nerlens Noel agreeing to sign with the team in the offseason.
After the team released Alex Abrines on Saturday, the Thunder now have three open roster spots and will likely look to fill those rather soon so we’ll see who Westbrook and George can help bring to town.
