It’s been a busy Sunday for Los Angeles Lakers news and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. With free agency just around the corner, you can bet that the team is looking for wing defenders after moving on from Danny Green following their title-winning season. It appears as though Wesley Matthews is high on the list of targets, according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein.
Matthews has been one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA for a long time and that was still the case last year for the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite being a little undersized at 6-foot-4, the 34-year-old can adequately guard all three perimeter positions and has long been a tough defender in the post against mismatches. Offensively, Matthews averaged just over seven points per game last year but shot 36.4 percent from 3-point range where he does most of his damage. He is a career 38.1 percent shooter.
Matthews, whose father played for the Lakers and won two championships with the purple and gold, has been on the Lakers’ radar before but never really come close to a move to LA. With the Bucks likely to make significant changes to their roster after a disappointing playoff campaign and the pressure of keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo there long term, it could be a good time for the Lakers to steal a valuable piece away from another Finals contender.
