Milwaukee Bucks: What Wesley Matthews brings to the table

A cheap addition to a Milwaukee Bucks team desperate for depth on the wing, what does the newly-signed Wesley Matthews offer and how can he help the 2019 team?

Executing a sign-and-trade that sent combo guard Malcolm Brogdon out of town, general manager Jon Horst feels comfortable with the Milwaukee Bucks transitioning to a committee at shooting guard in 2019.

The organization is cash-strapped due to the Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and George Hill re-upping. Because of that, it’s important for Horst to go out and capitalize on every “bargain bin” signing he can.

That brings us to Wesley Matthews. A 10-year veteran in the NBA, Matthews will sign with Milwaukee for the veteran’s minimum of $2.56 million. A career 13.7 point per game scorer, Matthews will now play for his sixth team.

Spending last season with the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, he’ll look to settle in with the Bucks for at least a full season.

Turning 33 years old by the time the regular season rolls around, Matthews is no longer in his prime. With that said, his scoring averages have remained within 1.3 points of each other from the 2015-16 to 2018-19 seasons.

The range of his field goal and 3-point percentages in that same time span are 1.8 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Simply put, he is what he is. Nevertheless, what are his strengths and weaknesses? What does he bring to the team?

First and foremost, Matthews is a sniper from deep. A career 38.2 percent 3-point shooter, he’s seen his efficiency from that area remain consistently good for his entire tenure in the NBA. Attempting 5.8 threes per game last season, he knocked them down at a 37.2 percent clip.

Well above the 2018-19 league average of 35.5 percent, Matthews’ ability to take and make so many long-range shots is a direct replacement for the void Brogdon left.

On catch-and-shoot threes last season, Matthews shot 40.1 percent. Playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo (one of the best driving threats in league history), he’ll receive plenty of kick-outs and opportunities to fire away.

Attempting the second-most 3-pointers in the NBA as a team in 2018-19 after ranking 25th in the same category just a year before, the addition of Matthews came at a perfect time for Milwaukee.

Aside from that, Matthews doesn’t have many other pluses to his game. He’s lost a step athletically and wasn’t ever great in that area to begin with, so don’t expect him to get to the rim a ton.

That will also play a factor in his ability on the defensive end. Posting the worst defensive rating of his career last season, it appears the former Marquette Golden Eagle’s decline on that side has arrived.

On top of the potential defensive woes, Matthews has never been much of a rebounder or facilitator. Averaging 2.5 boards and 2.3 assists per game last year across his three teams, he is essentially a spot-up shooter at this point in his career.

There’s nothing wrong with that, as he’s a pretty good one and can still average double-digit points per game. In head coach Mike Budenholzer’s floor-spacing offensive system, Matthews could find himself in a starting spot.

He’s far from perfect, but Wesley Matthews provides not only another veteran presence for the Milwaukee Bucks, but also a reliable 3-point shooter in the rotation. How many minutes per game he’ll play this upcoming season is unknown but for the veteran minimum salary, they will all be for a pretty good value.