Instant reactions to the Milwaukee Bucks signing Wesley Matthews

The Milwaukee Bucks have been incredibly active over the past few days making roster moves, and they certainly caught some people by surprise with their latest pair of moves.

It started when The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the team had waived rookie guard  Georgios Kalaitzakis, who had scarcely seen time this season. That move opened up a roster spot, but before fans could even begin to speculate about what general manager Jon Horst was working on in the front office, Charania reported that the Bucks planned to sign Wesley Matthews. This deal has already sparked some controversy among the fanbase, as most have differing opinions about the Wisconsin native following his previous exit from the team.

Instant reactions to the Milwaukee Bucks signing Welsey Matthews

The first thought that came to mind for many was Donte DiVincenzo and his current condition as he recovers from ankle surgery. Of course, the Bucks signed big man DeMarcus Cousins to a deal earlier this week and then reported soon after that starting center Brook Lopez would undergo a back procedure. While it looked like DiVincenzo was making strides in his recovery, fans can only hope that the guard did not suffer a setback that prompted the team to sign Matthews. Only time will tell if some news surfaces on that front.

As for the signing itself, Matthews makes sense to some degree. Kalaitzakis was not getting many minutes for the Bucks, so utilizing that roster spot on someone like Matthews is viable. Matthews is also quite familiar with the system under head coach Mike Budenholzer, having started in all 67 of his regular season appearances with the Bucks in 2019-20. Matthews can come in and help the Bucks immediately as they continue to deal with injuries early in the season. He brings toughness, solid 3-point shooting, and reputable defense to the table, all of which will help the Bucks in their quest to make another title run.

Of course, Matthews will not be a needle-tipping addition. After leaving the Bucks in free agency, Matthews had the least productive season of his career the next year with the Los Angeles Lakers. He never looked like himself, and he did not find a new home in 2021 free agency because of how poorly he performed. The veteran averaged just 4.8 points while shooting 35.3 percent from the field and a grueling 33.5 percent from 3-point range. After plenty of time off, Matthews will get a second chance with the Bucks to prove that he can still play at the highest level.

An interesting tidbit of information regarding this deal comes from Sportrac’s Keith Smith, who reported that the Bucks went above the luxury tax to make this move. That is something that they are typically not known for, so the team must have really wanted Matthews if they were willing to increase their tax bill to bring him in. Hopefully it has nothing to do with an injury to a player currently on the roster that has not yet been reported.

This move is certainly interesting, and time will tell if Matthews can get it right the second time in town. In the meantime, welcome back to Milwaukee, Wes.