Last Week: Beat Golden State Warriors 128-97, Beat Minnesota Timberwolves 137-121, Beat Charlotte Hornets 116-105, Lost to Atlanta Hawks 99-94
This Week: 3/21 at Phoenix Suns, 3/23 at New Orleans Pelicans, 3/25 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 3/26 at Cleveland Cavaliers
Wesley Matthews
The Los Angeles Lakers, much like the Phoenix Suns, do not seem likely to make a trade. They have plenty of financial commitments already made and are focused on the buyout market for someone on a bigger contract who will suddenly become much cheaper (Andre Drummond?). However, if they wanted to make an addition by subtraction, they could find a landing spot for Wesley Matthews.
Matthews was a prized free-agent acquisition just a few months ago, with LA snaring the defensive wiz away from the Milwaukee Bucks to solidify their title defense. Last season for Milwaukee, he was part of the best defensive unit in the league in a big way. For players playing at least 20 minutes per game (minimum 10 games played) Matthews ranked second in defensive rating (98.3), behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo. He also shot 36.4 percent from long range.
This year has not been quite the same. He has dropped to 14th in the league in defensive rating using the same sample size (104.8). Allowing more than six more points per 100 possessions is a noticeable drop. His 3-point shooting has also dropped to 34.5 percent. There is nothing to be immediately gained from moving on from a player who barely suits up for the Lakers but if anyone was to be moved on from, it is Matthews.