Беннедикт Матурин Нью-Орлеан Пеликанс багтай хоёр жилийн гэрээ байгуулахаар тохиролцлоо

Free agent shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, who finished last season with the LA Clippers, has agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to a league source who was not authorized to speak publicly because the deal has not been finalized.

The second year is a player option, according to a team source who was granted anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations. Mathurin was a restricted free agent but the Clippers are expected to enable Mathurin to head to the Pelicans.

According to a league source, New Orleans has been interested in Mathurin dating back to his time in Indiana and sees him as a potential long-term piece.

Mathurin, who turned 24 years old in June, just finished his fourth NBA season after being the sixth overall pick of the 2022 draft out of the University of Arizona by the Indiana Pacers. He averaged 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 30 minutes per game with the Pacers and Clippers last season.

The Montreal native and 2023 All-Rookie first team selection was traded to LA in February in a deal that sent center Ivica Zubac to Indiana. The Clippers also ended up acquiring what turned out to be the fifth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, which LA used to select point guard Keaton Wagler out of Illinois.

Last season was a mixed bag for Mathurin. He was a starter for the Pacers to begin the 2025-26 season, but he suffered a right great toe sprain in the first week of the season that cost him 23 days. Indiana, besieged by injuries after reaching the 2025 NBA Finals, was 1-12 when Mathurin returned. Then, Mathurin suffered a right thumb sprain in January that cost him 24 more days. Mathurin averaged 17.8 points per game during his final half-season with the Pacers, averaging 5.2 free throw attempts per game while making a career-best 2.1 3s per game, converting the 3s at a 37.2 percent clip while making 88.4 percent from the free throw line.

The Clippers elected to use Mathurin as a bench weapon after acquiring him, starting him only once out of 26 games. Mathurin averaged 17.4 points per game as a Clipper, but while he was more reliant on the free throw line (7.3 attempts per game), his 3-pointer abandoned him (only 0.7 3s per game while shooting 20.7 percent). The Clippers also used Mathurin as a passer more than the Pacers did, and he averaged 2.5 assists as a Clipper after only averaging 2.3 assists with the Pacers to begin the season. Mathurin was slightly more active in getting rebounds (5.5 per game) and steals (1.0 per game) with the Clippers as well. The Clippers did have to manage Mathurin’s bothersome toe in March, holding him out for nine days in the middle of the month.

Mathurin’s scoring ability has a high ceiling as either a starter or a reserve. He opened the season with a 36-point performance in a double overtime loss to the Thunder. Mathurin then came off the bench and led the Clippers to a win over the Nuggets in February while matching his career-high with 38 points. Mathurin is a solid athlete who has a knack for timely cuts, though he is more effective at scoring out of ball screens than isolations. Only Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. had more 20-point games off the bench than Mathurin (13) last season. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound wing has the physical tools to be a good defender, though he has not always shown it in his career.

However, Mathurin’s game tends to fall apart if he can’t get to the free throw line. He’s an inconsistent finisher who has not mastered midrange shooting, and defenses that are committed to not fouling him have taken him out of his game. Mathurin’s decision making as a passer is not always precise, and he loses focus too often to be relied on as a top defender. Mathurin’s durability is also a consideration; he missed 28 games last season and underwent season-ending surgery in March 2024 surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Mathurin was on the 2025 Pacers team that lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and he averaged 4.7 free throw attempts per game in the 2025 postseason. But Mathurin’s minutes went from 29.8 per game in the 2024-25 regular season to only 17.5 in the postseason, and that was after ceding his starting position to Aaron Nesmith one the latter got healthy at midseason. Indiana and Mathurin failed to agree to a rookie scale extension the following October, setting up last February’s deadline deal.