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Summary
Last offseason, the Lakers had two main resources to bring in talent - the Mid-Level Exception and the Bi-Annual Exception. Every other signing had to be for the minimum. After using the MLE to bring in Montrezl Harrell, the Lakers used the BAE on Matthews.

For the most part, Matthews disappointed. He shot a career low 34% from three, and his defensive ability has waned gradually as he ages into his mid-thirties. Matthews has never been strictly a 3-and-D player, but he also has never been significantly more than that. He can attack hard closeouts, and has enough vision to make plays for others if he gets an advantage on a drive. Matthews will have to hit shots at a better rate if he's going to make a real contribution for a contender going forward.
 
Cap Considerations
Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent with a $4.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. Since the Lakers will only have his Non-Bird Rights, the most they could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is a contract starting at $4.3 million. However, the Lakers could use their Mid-Level Exception to re-sign Matthews as well if he demands more than that. The Lakers will likely have the $5.9 million Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception available to re-sign Matthews, but could also have the full $9.5 million Non-Taxpayer MLE depending on what happens with their other free agents.
 
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Matthews as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him. It's also a possibility that Matthews could be had for the minimum.

Potential Teams: Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, Jazz, Pelicans

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $4.3 million with the Lakers

Last updated: 7/12/2021

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