RealGM

(Zards -- check your pms please)

PIF, I hope Mathews turns out to be an outstanding NBA player. But your hyping of him is waaayyyy over the top given how little he’s played—or done—at the NBA level.

You’re absolutely right. The numbers clearly show that Garrison has shot the ball much better than Robinson. But that’s about all they show. And all I’ve said is that Mathews will likely have to compete with Robinson for minutes at that backup SG spot.

Given Mathews superior shooting, he could very well win that competition with Robinson. On the other hand, though, if the Zards want defense and playmaking from that backup SG position, those minutes might end up going to Robinson.

If I were hyping him, you'd be right. But, I'm not.

He's played 227 minutes -- that doesn't even get him the "h" in "hype"!! It ought to get him more minutes, however. &, were I running the Wizards it would get him off the 2-way list & on the roster -- at a low salary with as many team options & as much team control as possible. It's a cheap experiment: little down side & significant up side.

But you are certainly right that we've talked more than enough about Mathews. I have. A very high ratio of words spilled on the subject to minutes played by the subject!

Garrison Mathews remains a Wizard -- re-signed to a 2-way offer.

I'm happy he's back, but I would have put him on the regular roster. A cheap deal with an option for next year. Either this kid can play or he can't. I'd like to find out. Of course, his deal can still be converted, so maybe I'm being too much in a hurry.

payitforward wrote:Garrison Mathews remains a Wizard -- re-signed to a 2-way offer.

I'm happy he's back, but I would have put him on the regular roster. A cheap deal with an option for next year. Either this kid can play or he can't. I'd like to find out. Of course, his deal can still be converted, so maybe I'm being too much in a hurry.

Agreed - he should be on the regular roster.

He looked too good not to start playing bench minutes right away imo. Neto should have to wait before he gets on the court, same with Winston unfortunately.

This roster is a little overstuffed.

Dark Faze wrote:He looked too good not to start playing bench minutes right away imo. Neto should have to wait before he gets on the court, same with Winston unfortunately.

This roster is a little overstuffed.

It's a condensed season with 14 back-to-backs. Depth is going to help.

Ultimately, it's going to come down to Mathews or Robinson. There will only be room for one of them on the active roster. For now, Brooks is going to side with Robinson because he really seems to like him for some reason. But he'll give Mathews a chance at some point. Brooks' MO is to give marginal rotation players 5-game stints in the regular rotation to see what they can do. Mathews will get a shot.

In the long run, I think Mathews makes more sense than Robinson as a 12th/13th man. Guys that deep on the bench are more useful as specialists who do one thing better than the starters rather than being generalists who are just a little worse than the starters at everything. Having Mathews as a situational sharpshooter when we need 3 points at the end of a quarter can be a useful piece, even if he only plays 500 minutes a season.

edited the thread title

nate33 wrote:

Dark Faze wrote:He looked too good not to start playing bench minutes right away imo. Neto should have to wait before he gets on the court, same with Winston unfortunately.

This roster is a little overstuffed.

It's a condensed season with 14 back-to-backs. Depth is going to help.

Ultimately, it's going to come down to Mathews or Robinson. There will only be room for one of them on the active roster. For now, Brooks is going to side with Robinson because he really seems to like him for some reason. But he'll give Mathews a chance at some point. Brooks' MO is to give marginal rotation players 5-game stints in the regular rotation to see what they can do. Mathews will get a shot.

In the long run, I think Mathews makes more sense than Robinson as a 12th/13th man. Guys that deep on the bench are more useful as specialists who do one thing better than the starters rather than being generalists who are just a little worse than the starters at everything. Having Mathews as a situational sharpshooter when we need 3 points at the end of a quarter can be a useful piece, even if he only plays 500 minutes a season.

Makes sense -- except if he shoots 41.3% on 3's & 91.2% from the FT line to post a 69.1% TS% it might be hard to keep him to only 500 minutes a season! (not that one should actually assume he'll continue to post numbers like that! )

nate33 wrote:...For now, Brooks is going to side with Robinson because he really seems to like him for some reason....

Aside from the fact that Robinson was a lottery pick, which means he'll get a zillion chances to prove he's not a bust, we also had a big decision coming up about Jerome Robinson -- whether to pick up his 2021-22 option. Deadline was in October, so it made absolute sense to play him as much as possible.

There has been no news of us picking up that option -- but, I believe that league-wide it was made possible to put off these deadlines.

payitforward wrote:

nate33 wrote:...For now, Brooks is going to side with Robinson because he really seems to like him for some reason....

Aside from the fact that Robinson was a lottery pick, which means he'll get a zillion chances to prove he's not a bust, we also had a big decision coming up about Jerome Robinson -- whether to pick up his 2021-22 option. Deadline was in October, so it made absolute sense to play him as much as possible.

There has been no news of us picking up that option -- but, I believe that league-wide it was made possible to put off these deadlines.

I'd definitely decline the option. He's a marginal player. If he improves a bit, he might stick around in the league as a second string SG, but he's not a difference maker. At best, he's "just a guy". I'd much rather have the roster spot to try out on other prospects.

I have a question about 2-way players, can they be pinched in the off-season before their current team offers them a contract? I thought DaQuan Jeffries would have been a good pinch, could another team have offered Matthews a small deal (1-2M) and pinch him from us...potentially?

nate33 wrote:

payitforward wrote:

nate33 wrote:...For now, Brooks is going to side with Robinson because he really seems to like him for some reason....

Aside from the fact that Robinson was a lottery pick, which means he'll get a zillion chances to prove he's not a bust, we also had a big decision coming up about Jerome Robinson -- whether to pick up his 2021-22 option. Deadline was in October, so it made absolute sense to play him as much as possible.

There has been no news of us picking up that option -- but, I believe that league-wide it was made possible to put off these deadlines.

I'd definitely decline the option. He's a marginal player. If he improves a bit, he might stick around in the league as a second string SG, but he's not a difference maker. At best, he's "just a guy". I'd much rather have the roster spot to try out on other prospects.

Oh me too! No question. But, if I had to guess... I think we pay him the $5+m for 21-22. Because he was a lottery pick....

5 games per36:

22.3 points 4.5 rebounds 2.8 assists 2.2 steals 0.6 turnovers. 64.6% TS 22.2 net rating(!!!)

9.5 3PA and 5.0 FTA

closg00 wrote:I have a question about 2-way players, can they be pinched in the off-season before their current team offers them a contract? I thought DaQuan Jeffries would have been a good pinch, could another team have offered Matthews a small deal (1-2M) and pinch him from us...potentially?

We have RFA rights on Mathews.

nate33 wrote:

closg00 wrote:I have a question about 2-way players, can they be pinched in the off-season before their current team offers them a contract? I thought DaQuan Jeffries would have been a good pinch, could another team have offered Matthews a small deal (1-2M) and pinch him from us...potentially?

We have RFA rights on Mathews.

Rosy scenario:

-Brooks holds down his value by limiting his minutes
-we resign him cheaply
-a new coach actually plays him and he blows up

We need to see more of the lineups with Mathews, Bertans, and the guy named Beal. I'd love to see them together for 20 minutes a game, and see what their +/- would be. The spacing is tremendous - which should make it easy for guys like Ish and Neto and Rui and Avdija and whoever plays center to shine. And Mathews' defense has been a very pleasant surprise. He hustles his arse off - which rubs off on his teammates. Give Mathews 20 minutes a game, and let's see the team stats. That's not a lot to ask for.

Ruzious wrote:We need to see more of the lineups with Mathews, Bertans, and the guy named Beal. I'd love to see them together for 20 minutes a game, and see what their +/- would be. The spacing is tremendous - which should make it easy for guys like Ish and Neto and Rui and Avdija and whoever plays center to shine. And Mathews' defense has been a very pleasant surprise. He hustles his arse off - which rubs off on his teammates. Give Mathews 20 minutes a game, and let's see the team stats. That's not a lot to ask for.

This. Plus Bonga and a healthy Westbrook. Super small ball. Clear it all out and Bonga, Bertans, and Mathews spot up while Westbrook and Beal get downhill and attack. On defense, we switch 1-5 and let Westbrook make up for any potential rebounding disadvantage.

You look at guys like Mathews, Bonga, Bertans, and Avdija, they all have massively positive on/off numbers, they just help you win. Like you said, if you just play all of these guys a good amount of minutes, you are going to be a good team.

If you adjust to players that have played atleast 50 minutes this season, and sort by “Total on/off” instead of “War”(due to lack of playing time), Garrison Mathews has been the 2nd best player in the NBA. If you do the same thing for 19-20, Mathews comes in at 21st.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/nba-player-ratings/

EXTEND HIS CONTRACT NOW