Per Adam Zagoria or the New York Times, the high school head coach of former Michigan Wolverines guard Charles Matthews confirmed that the Chicago-native tore his ACL while participating in a workout for the Boston Celtics. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony originally reported the news of Matthews’ injury, with the news being relayed by Matthews’ agent (Adam Pensack of Pensack Sports Management Group).
Although a wide array of draft prospects were reported to be coming in for workouts for the Celtics, including Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield and UNC’s Nassir Little, Matthews had not yet been reported as a draft prospect Boston had interest in.
At 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, Matthews has a great NBA body for a wing player and the athleticism to match. He’s also a two-way player who makes high-effort plays routinely. His biggest issue is pure skill, as he’s not much of a ball-handler, facilitator or jump shooter.
Per Sports Reference, the junior averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game at Michigan while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from three and 59.6 percent from the free-throw line. Matthews transferred to Michigan from the University of Kentucky in 2016.
If Boston wants to bring Matthews on as a developmental prospect, he could be worth a second-round flyer even though he’ll likely miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season. The time off the court could give Matthews plenty of time to work on the skill aspects of his game, making him a more desirable prospect in the future.
