Bennedict Mathurin's free agency took a weird detour to get here, but it landed exactly where the Pelicans have wanted it for over a year. Shams Charania reported Mathurin agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with New Orleans, including a player option, after his camp went to the Clippers and asked them to withdraw his $8.8 million qualifying offer so the move could actually happen.
Bennedict Mathurin has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, including a player option, sources tell ESPN. Mathurin’s reps approached the Clippers about withdrawing his $8.8M qualifying offer, effectively turning the QO into a more favorable situation in New Orleans with added security. Mathurin prioritized flexibility and the earliest path to unrestricted free agency next summer versus longer term offers with larger total commitments but greater team control.
That's the part that makes this deal interesting instead of routine. Mathurin was a restricted free agent, which meant the Clippers held all the leverage, right up until they agreed to give it up. His reps essentially converted the qualifying offer into a springboard, turning a one-year, $8.8 million tender into a two-year deal with real security and a faster runway back to the open market.
JUST IN: Bennedict Mathurin is signing a 2-year, $16 million deal with the Pelicans, per ESPN.
The Clippers only landed Mathurin in the first place because of last season's blockbuster that sent Ivica Zubac to Indiana. That deal brought Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and multiple first-round picks to Los Angeles in exchange for the Clippers' longtime starting center, per ESPN. Mathurin never fully settled in as a Clipper, but between his time in Indiana and LA last season he posted career highs of 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game across 54 games, and he averaged 17.5 points per game off the bench, tops in the NBA among players with at least 20 games in that role, according to ESPN.
At 24, Mathurin reportedly turned down longer offers from the Bulls, Bucks and Mavericks that carried more total money, choosing instead to bet on himself with an early exit ramp to unrestricted free agency next summer. New Orleans, for its part, gets a 6th overall pick from the 2022 draft who's averaged 16.2 points a game over four NBA seasons, and does it while staying under the luxury tax line, per Charania.
The Pelicans have aggressively pursued Mathurin for over a year and view him as a significant part of their young core while the deal also keeps New Orleans below the luxury tax line this season.
Not everyone was ready to call it done, done. Jake Fischer reported the Clippers hadn't actually withdrawn the qualifying offer yet as of Wednesday afternoon, even as all sides moved to finalize Mathurin's exit to New Orleans. It's paperwork, not panic, but it's a reminder that restricted free agency deals like this one require every team involved to formally sign off before anything is official.
Either way, the direction is set. The Pelicans have been circling Mathurin for over a year, according to Charania, and they finally get him as a piece of their young core alongside Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. For Mathurin, it's a swing for autonomy — take the two-year runway now, prove it in New Orleans, and go get paid on his own terms next summer.