The Los Angeles Lakers have either lost or risk losing some wing talent this offseason. Danny Green was moved in a trade, while Avery Bradley and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both unrestricted free agents. Soon after the start of the NBA’s free agency period, though, they managed to bring in some reinforcements in the form of a highly-regarded three-and-D player.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Wesley Matthews will jump from the Milwaukee Bucks to the reigning NBA champions.
Free agent Wes Matthews plans to sign with the Lakers, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 20, 2020
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports confirmed the news in a unique way, showing off a picture he got sent to him from Bradley of Lakers shorts.
Free agent guard Wesley Matthews sent me this picture: pic.twitter.com/lchvFzp5zB
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 20, 2020
Charania also had the contract details, as Matthews is joining L.A. on a relatively cheap deal: one year, $3.6 million.
Wes Matthews is signing a one-year, $3.6M deal with the LA Lakers, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/fYHthoXFjE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 20, 2020
Matthews, who just turned 34, is well-traveled in his NBA career, but spent last season in Milwaukee. He started all 67 games in which he appeared, averaging 7.4 points per game and connected on 36.4 percent of his attempts from deep. While Matthews has never played with LeBron James or Anthony Davis in his career, it stands to reason that he’ll get plenty of time as a floor-spacing threat on a Lakers team that is constantly looking for shooting. He’s not the first addition that L.A. has made to its roster this offseason, though, as the team traded for Dennis Schröder of the Oklahoma City Thunder.