The Hawks have needed some vocal veteran leadership amongst their ranks, and they may have found it in guards Wesley Matthews and Patty Mills.
Both are beginning their first seasons in Atlanta, but have been in the NBA a combined 30 seasons. They have different styles of leadership and how they connect with their younger teammates but they each have the ability to get their messages across.
For Matthews, it’s saying what needs to be said in that moment. Of course, he leans on his years of experience in the league and reads the situation accordingly. But he gets his message across much to the appreciation of his teammates.
“Yeah, Wes is a hell of a leader, a great vet to have,” rookie guard Kobe Bufkin said. “Constantly talking about (things) you know, not scared to say something. You know, a lot of a lot of vets will hold their tongue but he’s not scared to say what’s on his mind. And I appreciate him for that.”
For Mills, he keeps himself open to whatever questions come his way. So far, sophomore wing AJ Griffin has picked Mills’ brain whenever they get their shots up after practice.
“The first and foremost thing for AJ is, you know, his ability to want to learn and want to ask a lot of questions,” Mills said. “To be able to get better I think, you you miss a lot of these days, I feel like so to be able to have someone that’s eager and asking questions and wanting to find out more wanting to figure it out, what I think is the first step and then you see him go out and actually try to do the things.
“So as a leader and as a veteran or whatever, you feed that even more so with guys like AJ. So, it’s great and being able to shoot with him after and me get to know his game a little bit more and see where I can help, it’s good.”
Just one week into camp, Matthews and Mills have already left lasting impressions on their young teammates. Since the Hawks opened training camp last Tuesday, players, as well as coach Quin Snyder, have without prompting, have pointed to ways the two 15-year veterans have influenced them.
When asked last Tuesday for an evaluation of the team’s first practice, Snyder brought up a saying that caught on after Matthews kept using it.
“Wes Matthews has had us started saying ‘stack days,’” Snyder said last Tuesday. “So we just need to stack some days together, the right kind of days where we’re not just out here, but we’re out here purposely working and really, it’s more than working, it’s training.”
The Hawks have needed more veterans who can say what the team needs at the right time. For Matthews, he understands that he won’t get it right 100% of the time but he knows he can lean on his NBA experience as a reference point.
“We have a team full of leaders,” Matthews said. “It’s just a matter of, does everybody feel comfortable and getting everybody to feel comfortable and they don’t have to all do it in the same way. The way I lead doesn’t have to be the way Patty leads and the way Trae (Young) leads and the way DJ (Dejounte Murray) leads and the way Clint (Capela) leads. It doesn’t have to all be the same. It’s just has to be respected and received.”
As Matthews continues to lean on his experience in the league, he understands that there is a balance to being a vocal leader on the new team. So, he’s grateful that the Hawks young leaders have left that space for him and Mills to step into.
“I’m thankful for Quin and Trae and Dejounte and Clint, you know, all the guys that have been here that kind of allow myself and Patty to be those vets,” Matthews said. “Because you can’t just come in and be like, ‘This is what we’re gonna do.’ It has to be a cohesion. And that’s what has been happening.
“So, I think you’re gonna see this chemistry take off and chemistry wins games in the NBA. I was on the Bucks team that won 58 games last year and we didn’t do it all because we were the best team that night. There was times when other teams were better than us that night but we were the tightest team. We were friends. We were gonna fight for each other. And that’s that’s what I feel here.”
