Wes Matthews is on a Portland team that is stacked with young talent. With LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard waiting to get paid and Nicolas Batum on the books through 2016, the odd man out may be Matthews. Assuming the Blazers offer Aldridge and Lillard near max deals plus keep Batum around at a hefty price, their core of 3 players to build around is complete.
Enter the Lakers. With news of a $4.85 Million DPE (disabled player exemption) granted by the league for Steve Nash, pair that with Robert Sacre or Wayne Ellington for Matthews and you have a deal. Also if Portland has their sights set on a deep playoff run and want some insurance at the PG spot, Jeremy Lin for Matthews works too.
More from Lakers News
- 3 most underrated players currently on the Los Angeles Lakers roster
- 2 Lakers who would benefit the most from a Kyrie Irving trade
- Victor Oladipo’s Russell Westbrook comments are terrible sign for Lakers
- 3 Most likely positions the Lakers will use for the last roster spot
- Kings signing castoffs from Lakers’ nightmare seasons is strange
This season’s Lakers team isn’t built to win with a current roster of one small forward, Wesley Johnson, one center, Robert Sacre and multiple power forwards and shooting guards. That being said why not swing a deal for Matthews?
Here’s the argument for Matthews: he’s a career 15 ppg shooting guard on teams (Utah Jazz and Portland Trailblazers) where he’s not the primary scorer so he finds ways to contribute either starting or coming off the bench. Matthews plays with a chip on his shoulder which means he would immediately bond with Kobe Bryant. Matthews and Bryant do play the same position, like Kobe and Nick Young, but chemistry is more important than just filling out a roster (see Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe in 2013-2014). At this point the Lakers can’t be too picky about what positions are needed, instead they need to stockpile talent in order to be an attractive enough of a destination for free agents in 2015 and 2016.
Don’t forget Matthews is 27 years old and in the prime of his career. He’s going to want a bigger role than the Blazers can offer him and based on last offseason’s shutout in free agency, the Lakers can’t assume free agents want to come to L.A. anymore. Acquire Matthews in a trade, move Kobe to small forward, bring Young off the bench and now at least you have 3 consistent scorers on the team. Next season Randle returns, the Lakers land some free agent pieces in the offseason and you’re on the road to playoff contention immediately with championship aspirations in a few years.
The 2015 free agency class is good and the 2016 class is better, but instead of Lakers management swinging for the fences and striking out like we did this past offseason, a better strategy is to get “base hits” like Matthews and move in the right direction. The Lakers need to make a trade before the deadline, even if missing the playoffs is a foregone conclusion. We are building for the future and Wes Matthews can be a big part of it.