Bucks shooting guard Wesley Matthews is an unrestricted free agent. Should the team bring him back?
36 year old Wesley Matthews is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. So then why does it feel like it is Milwaukee or nothing for Matthews? With so much roster upheaval right now for the Bucks, should Milwaukee bring back Matthews? Let’s look a little deeper at the value Matthews brings. Bringing back his veteran presence could add some depth to the bench but his age and declining shooting metrics are certainly a concern.
A major plus to having Matthews around is his Marquette connection. Matthews’ hometown is Madison, WI. That certainly does not hurt.
Related: Should the Bucks Bring Back Meyers Leonard?
Matthews’s Statistics
Matthews has played in 950 career NBA games. Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Utah Jazz in 2009, Matthews has had a heck of an NBA career. Of course a major highlight was winning a title with the Bucks. But he also has had some really strong seasons with Portland. In the 2013-2014 season he averaged 16 points per game and started all 82 games. That season he shot close to 40% from three. (.393%)
He had a few strong seasons for the Mavericks. In 2016-2017 he started in every game he played. He averaged over 13.7 points per game. He had career highs in rebounds and assists that year.
He also has a respectable field goal percentage (42%) in his career, shooting 37% from three in his career. Last year his shooting numbers simply were not there. He shot 36% from the field and 31% from behind the arc.
Matthews is known as strong defender. But his career steals numbers don’t really speak to that. He averages one a game. Instead it is more of the intangibles in the way he plays defense. He has always been a good player to close out on the shots of opponents and has very active hands when he plays.
Matthews earned a career high $18.6 million dollars in the 2018-2019 season with the New York Knicks. He recently earned $1.8 million on his expired deal with the Bucks.
Potential Reigns Supreme in the NBA
Maybe the better question to ask is, “with more playing time, would Matthews be able to provide serviceable minutes for Milwaukee?” The answer to that question appears to be “no”. Given the time, it does seem like Matthews can continue to hold his own on defense. But his offensive production is suspect. In the 2021-2022 season in January Matthews played 29 minutes against Brooklyn. He put up 12 points with 7 rebounds. The Bucks won that game. The next night, on a back-to-back against Charlotte Matthews played 33 minutes and had 9 points. The Bucks lost that game. That was 2 years ago. He has not played that much since.
Playing a ton of minutes seems like that is a big ask for Matthews right now. He can still defend and could maybe eat up some time, but he’ll more than likely not be able to return to those excellent seasons he had in Portland.
Final Verdict
The Bucks should wait and see with Matthews. If he wants to play and comeback, he could be a good mid-season add if the team faces injuries. Or if that 14th or 15th roster spot is open, then maybe. But anything more than that feels like a major stretch.
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