Veteran shooting guard Wesley Matthews will sign with Lakers

Wesley Matthews is leaving Milwaukee and joining the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers might’ve made an extremely savvy move by trading for Dennis Schroder, but the deal cost them Danny Green, a veteran who will give you competence on both ends of the floor. In order to replace a veteran 3-and-D guard, the Lakers found another aging sniper on the free-agent market, as they coaxed Wesley Matthews into leaving the Milwaukee Bucks for the famous purple and gold.

Matthews left the Bucks for LeBron James and the Lakers, agreeing to a one-year contract worth just $3.6 million, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania:

Wesley Matthews is the type of veteran sharpshooter LeBron will love

After starting his career with the Utah Jazz, Matthews played the bulk of his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, with whom he averaged 14.5 points per game on 38 percent shooting from long range. While he bounced around the league via trade a few times, he eventually ended up in Milwaukee, where he started 67 games for the Bucks and emerged as one of Mike Budenholzer’s best role players.

LeBron has always worked well with veterans that can step right into the game and hit 3s off a kick-out, and Matthews certainly fits the bill. While he may not be the defender Green is, his ability to create his own shot on offense far exceeds that of Green. The Lakers couldn’t have found a more equal replacement for Green than Matthews.

With Green now in Philadelphia and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope attracting interest elsewhere, the Lakers need to replace the tertiary shooters that surround James and, eventually, Anthony Davis on their roster. Matthews was a key starter on one of the league’s best teams last year, and he should be expected to fill that role once more with the Lakers.