The consensus around here seems to be that Kaman is going to be a top notch backup for Lopez, that Leonard is going to see real minutes this year, that CJ is going to earn some PT at the 2, and the Blake is probably going to see time on the floor with Dame. All of these suggest that Lopez and Matthews may see a bit of a downtick in role and minutes this year. With both in contact years, that could be a good thing. If their roles are reduced, slightly, over the course of the season, might that make them a bit cheaper to re-sign in the off-season? They're both somewhat under-the-radar types already; I'm hoping an improved bench helps them to stay that way.
They will still get paid just the same. Cutting minutes is not going to cut pay. Although I'm sure many GM's wish it worked that way.
I think other GMs will value both players the same regardless of whether their minutes and therefore their stats go down a tick.
Maybe, maybe not. Look at the Spurs, some of their guys were looking for a pay day and the Spurs let them go and found other guys to fill in their spots. Maybe that's what the Blazers will have to do to keep their championship core of Damian, Aldridge and Batum together. Let Wesley and Robin go about their merry way to cashville. We have a couple down years while draft picks mature and we use our MLE to pick up more affordable options and then we make another championship run in 2017.
As bench players grow to want starting roles, some will follow opportunity and over time we'll see different bench players but I really think this starting core is special and I hope it's a dynasty for a long time to come