Lakers’ new addition Wesley Matthews alludes to his next chapter with the defending champions
Wesley Matthews is one of the last additions that the Los Angeles Lakers made during this offseason. The veteran shooting guard has been considered to be a defensive-minded player who can knock down shots from the three-point line.
Recently he spoke about the new chapter of his career with Lakers and what assets and qualities he has and can add to this team:
“Me, I am gonna do whatever it is that they want me to do. I would like to think I know a thing or two on the defensive end. I can read situations, I can make adjustments on the fly and I’m a defensive mind on a team full of defensive-minded people,” Matthews said.
Reporter Harrison Faigen asked him if he had any indications about his role with the team or if he will be considered as a starter or will come off the bench:
‘’We didn’t really get into role or anything like that. They were still obviously filling out the roster and all that kind of stuff. I’ve got trust with (them), I don’t think that they are bringing me here not to do anything. So what I am doing is what I have always been doing: Working, staying in the gym, sharpening up every tool that there is in a basketball game. Shooting, obviously, ball-handling….But most importantly just keeping my body right, keeping my body so that we can grind. I know it’s only 72 games now, but the NBA season is a grind and it’s been an awkward offseason, an awkward year, I guess you can say, not that traditional time where you can start ramping up your offseason to more extensive workouts and stuff, so the main thing is making sure that health and your body, the foundation is stable so that we can go out there and give max effort every single night.’’
Matthews also responded to a question related to the defensive mindset and approach that coach Frank Vogel has:
‘’I saw a lot of adjustments. Obviously protecting the rim, guarding the three and protecting the rim are the most important things, and keeping people off the foul line. That’s the way that the NBA is trending right now: Threes, foul-line, basket. But what I saw with the Lakers was a lot of adjustments. You have your base but sometimes it’s the NBA, people are going to get going, you have got guys like Dame and Curry, and countless other guys that can pull up from 38 feet, so you have to take account for that. It’s an ongoing thing. I saw switching, I saw mixing unders and overs, I saw a lot of variations of defense, which I think is something that’s important. Me, I am gonna do whatever it is that they need me to do. I would like to think that I know a thing or two on the defensive end. I can read situations, I can make adjustments on the fly, and I’m a defensive mind on a team full of defensive-minded people, so that things can be discussed and nuances can be done in-game, live when it is going so that we can put ourselves in the best position to win.’’
He has been in the league for 11 years and he throughout his career he has shot 38% on corner threes. Playing alongside Lebron James, an intelligent player and a great passer, he was asked about how he will get benefited by LeBron’s passing skills:
‘’I really want to shoot the ball. So I think there’s your answer right there. Who doesn’t want to shoot the ball? I've just got to make sure that I get to that spot, and I know that ball will be there, and hopefully more often than not the other team is going to be taking it out of the net.’’
Matthews was signed as a replacement for Danny Green who was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder. The Lakers were looking to find a great three-point shooter, a player with a defensive mind — and the veteran shooting guard checks both boxes.
He is the second member of his family who gets the opportunity to play for the Lakers, as his father Wesley Matthews Sr. played for the Lakers in the 1980s with Magic Johnson and other Hall of Fame players.
Last season, he was a part of the Milwaukee Bucks team and had a career-low 24.4 minutes of playing time, but still contributed 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game, while shooting 36.4% from the perimeter, 39.6% from the field and 76.5% from the free-throw line.