Continuing a week full of roster moves, Bucks general manager Jon Horst made another move to solidify the roster Friday by signing free-agent wing Wesley Matthews. Per a league source, Matthews’ deal is non-guaranteed.
Matthews, 35, spent last season (his 12th NBA season) with the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 4.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game. In the previous season, Matthews played for the Bucks and started all 67 games he played, averaging 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game.
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“Wesley is a proven veteran whose shooting, defense and experience will help us,” Horst said in a Friday press release. “He is familiar with Coach Bud’s system and our team. We’re excited to have him back with us.”
To make room for Matthews, the Bucks requested waivers on 22-year-old rookie guard Georgios Kalaitzakis.
“I knew in my heart this is where I wanted to be,” Matthews said following shootaround Saturday. “I felt that from the team, from the organization, from the top down. And now we’re here. I couldn’t be more excited and happy.”
Let’s take a look at the two questions that matter most with Matthews in Milwaukee.
What can he do on the floor?
There are few surprises with Matthews’ game offensively at this point. He is on the floor to shoot 3s, and that is about it. Last season, 77 percent of the shots Matthews attempted came behind the 3-point line. With the Bucks in the 2019-20 season, 68 percent of the shots he attempted came behind the 3-point line. This is what you will see with Matthews offensively:
With the Bucks, Matthews shot 36.4 percent on 4.4 3-point attempts per game. With the Lakers, those numbers decreased along with his minutes, as he attempted 3.4 3-pointers per game and also made just 33.5 percent from deep. Matthews can pump fake and sidestep a hard closeout from 3, but he largely has not been a driver since he tore his left Achilles in March 2015 with the Blazers. That injury limited his athleticism and forced him into more of a supporting role rather than a leading role offensively.
On the other end, the Bucks will hope he can be disruptive against big wings in the same way he was the last time he wore a Bucks jersey.
The Bucks lost to the Heat in five games in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, but Matthews was the Bucks’ most successful defender on Heat star Jimmy Butler. He used his strength and physicality to push Butler away from the basket and disrupt his timing on drives. He also chased Butler around screens and stayed in front of him off the dribble. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best the Bucks could offer, with coach
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Matthews is a year older and just 6-foot-5, but if he is going to make a difference defensively, it will be by using his strength and stout frame in defending bigger wings, not trying to keep guards in front of him off the dribble.
Where does he fit in Budenholzer’s rotation?
Though the Bucks are still trying to figure out how to fill their minutes in the frontcourt with Brook Lopez’s extended absence, they are set on the wing, and Matthews understands that.
“Whether I start a game, whether I don’t start a game, whether I get a DNP, whether I play 15 or 20 minutes off the bench, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to be ready for whatever,” Matthews said.
Grayson Allen has broken out this season as the Bucks’ starting shooting guard, averaging a career high in points and hitting a career-high 42.6 percent of his 3s. Khris Middleton might not be scoring as he normally does after missing eight games because of COVID-19, but he has fit right back into the starting lineup and the Bucks won their first eight games with him back on the floor before dropping Thursday’s game against the Raptors.
Off the bench, Pat Connaughton is playing the best basketball of his NBA career. George Hill has stepped into the backup point guard role and also filled time at shooting guard off the bench. For the most part, the Bucks have been solid on the wing, but they could probably use one more strong contributor.
After scoring 15 points against the Nets on opening night, second-year forward Jordan Nwora has struggled with consistency and has been in and out of the rotation for Budenholzer. Semi Ojeleye, who Horst also hoped could give the Bucks greater depth in the backcourt, has spent most of the season injured and could not find a rhythm when on the floor. Rodney Hood has struggled off the bench and failed to make an impact through the first quarter of the season. Thanasis Antetokounmpo has also been in and out of Budenholzer’s rotation while struggling to find his place on both ends of the floor.
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With the struggles of those players in mind, there is an undeniable opportunity for Matthews to step into a real role in Budenholzer’s rotation. The Bucks need one more player off the bench to defend well and hit shots as they attempt to continue their climb out of the bottom half of the league in defensive and offensive efficiency and solidify their spots in the top 10 in each category. Knowing Budenholzer’s general philosophies on each side of the floor should help Matthews perform effectively, but he still needs to make the right rotations on defense and hit shots on offense to solidify a role.
(Photo: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)