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Lakers Rumors: Wesley Matthews signed to deal… What move is next?

By Ronald Agers

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Wesley Matthews #9 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half at Staples Center on March 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is guarded by Wesley Matthews #9 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half at Staples Center on March 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Lakers Rumors
(Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) – Lakers Rumors /

Wesley Matthews was the first of many players mentioned in recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors to sign with the team.

The Lakers rumors start strong with the NBA free agency getting in gear two days after the draft. Wesley Matthews is the next important piece for the championship reconstruction. Lake Show Life discusses Wesley Matthews, what he can bring and possible Lakers moves in the coming days.

Welcome back Los Angeles Lakers faithful to Lake Show Life’s soon to be daily Lakers rumors website. After Rob Pelinka handled his responsibilities of dealing the 28th pick along with Danny Green for the rights to Dennis Schroder, the Lakers were not a factor on NBA Draft night.

Obviously, it was not a night off for the Lakers front office. The free agency juggling act was in full effect as far as they were concerned.

Now the first of many deals have been completed.

Like Lake Show Life alluded to when the Schroder deal was done in principle, the Los Angeles Lakers needed to address the wing depth with Danny Green’s departure. Lakers rumors had Wesley Matthews in their sights and it didn’t take long for the team to agree to terms on a deal with the former Milwaukee Bucks veteran.

This signing will be very interesting when it comes to the starting lineup. According to this scenario by The Athletic’s David Aldridge, like Schroder, Wesley Matthews has eyes on a starting spot.

"For Wes Matthews, being able to step directly into a starting role with the Lakers created by the Danny Green trade to OKC was too good to pass up, per source."

With Anthony Davis holding off on signing his extension until AFTER Thanksgiving, Lakers fans may worry about Matthews’ deal because it’s more than the veteran’s minimum. The bi-annual exception Matthews is getting (Reported at 1 year, $3.6 million!) by multiple NBA insiders.

Stepping away from the cap sheet for a second, Matthews immediately upgrades the wing defense (For basically ten cents on the dollar!) with a bigger and younger body than the departed Danny Green. In short, he’s another option to throw at opposing scorers as they look to defend their title. Lake Show Life breaks that down in Joel Lorenzi’s analysis.

Lake Show Life will remind Lakers fans throughout the weekend into the coming weeks. Most media outlets have basically NO CLUE to what the Lakers will do next. The theme of this writer this year is “We Learn Together”.

Outside of a few insiders on the planet, Rob Pelinka’s plans are about as easy to get as the ingredients to Coca-Cola or the keys to Fort Knox. Most of these reports will be placed in the Lakers rumors folder for a while.

Think we’re kidding?

Dwight Howard basically tweeted as of this writing that he was resigned to the Lakers. It was reported and he deleted the tweet. Now he’s going to Philadelphia to back up Joel Embiid. It’s that serious.

What do we know roster wise that is not Lakers rumors?

  • Quinn Cook was waived this week. His contract for the second year was not fully guaranteed. He still gets paid $1 million for this year.
  • JaVale McGee opted into his contract for a reported $4.2 million. Keep that in mind, we will be reliving that number soon.
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley and Markieff Morris are still in the mix for contracts and will be looking for raises in a COVID-19 financially strapped market.

Is this a Wesley Matthews signing a good deal? Absolutely. The Rob Pelinka narrative that hovers around the term “Genius” still applies here. There will be fans that will be looking at the flaws of this deal. PFFT!

There is no perfect signing on a one-year deal, but the available wings in free agency at this price, the Lakers will bring back conspiracy theorists of mining talent. Understand this was less than an hour into free agency.

How does this signing affect future Lakers rumors of possible roster moves? Lake Show Life tries to figure out the possible scenarios to fill out this roster in a bad financial climate. Again, this needs to be said for clarity. Lake Show Life does NOT KNOW! Over the next several pages we look at some possible options that the Lakers could do to improve the roster in uncertain times.  

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