Wesley Matthews has the ability to put himself in the Lakers history books in his first season with the team.
The Los Angeles Lakers embark on their 2020-21 season in only 13 days. They have a lot of new players to integrate into their system and they will do so in the preseason. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis expected to get some rest, you’ll see how the new guys look in purple and gold.
One of those key additions is Wesley Matthews. The Lakers brought him in to replace Avery Bradley’s wing defense. Although Matthews is a bit older and doesn’t have the accolades of Bradley, he is a better shooter.
Matthews signed with the Lakers on a bi-annual exception, which was an absolute steal. Market value probably had him around the $5-7 million range per season. He is coming off a good season with the Bucks shooting the basketball and was also a good isolation defender.
The Lakers, surprisingly with all the great names that have come through Los Angeles, have never had a player light it up from 3-point range. Their leader for one season is 183 by Nick Van Exel in 1995. Players like Stephen Curry and James Harden have more than doubled that total in a season.
Matthews has also totaled more than that twice in his career. So he has the ability to do it, with all the space that he is going to be given as teams focus on AD and LeBron. Dennis Schröder is also a very good facilitator for others.
The 2020-21 NBA season will be an interesting one with how short the offseason was. Also with no fans in most arenas, it will be a different atmosphere for players. But Matthews will slide right in and be great for this squad.
Even with only a 72 game season, he could find himself etched in the Lakers history books in his first season.