Milwaukee Bucks: Grades for Wesley Matthews’ veteran minimum deal
Role
Now this is where it gets interesting in terms of Matthews’ reported addition.
The Bucks made a bold, and somewhat controversial decision by agreeing to a reported sign-and-trade deal that will send 50-40-90 guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers on the opening day of free agency.
As a result, the Bucks’ everyday starting 2-guard is now elsewhere in the central division and an opening now stands atop of that spot on the Bucks’ depth chart. Milwaukee certainly sports a serviceable crop of wings that could fight for starters minutes between Sterling Brown, Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo.
However, Matthews’ veteran experience and, while it has dropped off ever so slightly in recent years, shooting consistency from long range, may make him the leading candidate to fill out the Bucks’ starting lineup heading into the 2019-20 season in the eyes of Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.
The question will be whether the Bucks will look to slim down Matthews’ workload in order to preserve his body as he has maintained a starting level minutes load, even after suffering an Achilles’ injury midway through the 2014-15 season while in Portland.
While there is still plenty of time for that to sort out, it’s very clear that Matthews will have a sizeable role, especially in light of Brogdon’s departure.