Tom Ziller writes on SBNation.com that Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews was one of the top three deals of the summer 2010 free agency period. Ziller uses the advanced statistic Win Shares to reach that conclusion.
3. Wesley Matthews, Blazers
Actual salary: $5.7 million
Worth: $10.6 million
Underpaid by: $4.8 million
So much for a toxic offer sheet. The Blazers pried Matthews away from the Utah Jazz by frontloading a mid-level deal. Matthews was on the books for just $5.7 million, though, and he earned almost twice that according to Win Shares. So even if you switch this up to account for the actual money paid instead of the cap figure, Matthews was underpaid. Sweet deal.
The only two players who outperformed their salary by more than Matthews were Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors forward Dorell Wright.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter