Bennedict Mathurin’s free agent market is finally beginning to take shape.
The restricted free agent forward Mathurin is expected to sign with one of two teams — the New Orleans Pelicans or the incumbent LA Clippers. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday that Mathurin will either be headed to the Pelicans in a sign-and-trade or will be taking the one-year qualifying offer to return to the Clippers.
Mathurin, 24, was the No. 6 overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft. He quickly developed into a talented wing scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game over his four career seasons with them and eventually serving as an important bench contributor on the Indiana team that surprisingly made the NBA Finals in 2025.
In February of this year, the Pacers traded Mathurin to the Clippers as part of the blockbuster deal for center Ivica Zubac. Mathurin produced very strong numbers in L.A. (17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game) but is now still unsigned in the midst of a difficult offseason for restricted free agents.
Fischer notes that the Pelicans have been the one most “aggressive” team for Mathurin up to this point of the summer. That makes sense too given New Orleans’ need for complementary scorers around Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy III.
Mathurin has plenty of upside left and once even won a Finals game almost singlehandedly. Now it looks like Mathurin’s long summer of waiting could soon be coming to an end.
