Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Lineup changes, G-League questions and more!

2. Developing Garrison Mathews?

Facebook Question: “Why is Scott Brooks not interested in developing Garrison Mathews more?” – James C.

Another interesting topic and a great second question from James! Earlier this week, WoA site expert Keith Cork wrote a very interesting piece in regards to Garrison Mathews. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check that out.

Outside of what Keith hit on, I will say this. Similar to the situation I wrote about last week in regards to Anzejs Pasecniks, Mathews has a couple of things that may be out of his hands at the moment.

First off, he is still currently on the mend with that lingering ankle injury that he suffered in January. That does not help. Before anything can happen with his development he needs to be fully healthy. We have seen what rushing players back from injuries can do, so he needs to get right.

The next issue is the guys who are currently ahead of Mathews on the depth chart. Mathews is vying for minutes as a backup shooting guard but with a guy like Jerome Robinson ahead of him, Mathews might face the numbers game.

Mathews has shown already that he can shoot the lights out, however, a guy like Robinson – a 2018 lottery pick whose overall skillset many believe is more advanced than Mathews’ – will probably get more opportunities at the NBA level this season as the Wizards figure out what they have in the newly acquired guard.

The last thing to consider with Mathews is finances. Mathews is currently under contract on a two-way deal. For a two-way deal, guys can only spend a max of 45 days with the NBA club. The rest must be spent with the G-League. If they wanted to have Mathews up with the Wizards full-time, they would have to convert his contract to a partially guaranteed deal and give him a full roster spot.

The Wizards were very excited about getting a G-League team that will give them the opportunity to develop some guys who may need a little more time. Personally I feel like Mathews is the perfect example as to why they got a G-League affiliate.

As a two-way guy he gets more minutes and can develop his game beyond his shooting ability.

I think the Wizards believe they have a player in Garrison Mathews. However in a year focused on development, Mathews still needs a little more time.