The Bulls have surfaced as a second team with Bennedict Mathurin on their radar, joining the Pelicans in the chase for the Clippers restricted free agent.
Marc Stein first reported earlier this week that New Orleans was one of two teams interested in Mathurin, and in his latest Substack update he identified Chicago as the other club. The 24-year-old is still available after Los Angeles tendered him a qualifying offer worth approximately $8.77MM in June.
Chicago’s path to a deal is not especially clean. The Bulls were one of just three teams to operate under the cap and use cap room this offseason, but that space has already been spent on Nic Claxton, Norman Powell and an extension for Zach Collins. That leaves them near the cap, with only the $9.4MM room exception available unless they make more roster moves.
That makes a straight offer sheet difficult. A two- or three-year deal starting at $9.4MM would likely not be enough to keep the Clippers from matching, which means a sign-and-trade would probably be the Bulls’ best shot if they want to seriously pursue Mathurin.
If Chicago goes down that road, Patrick Williams’ three-year, $54MM contract would seem like the most obvious outgoing piece from the Bulls’ side. But the Clippers, or a third team, would likely have more interest in players such as Isaac Okoro ($11.8MM), Jalen Smith ($9.4MM) and/or Tre Jones ($8MM), all of whom are on deals with no guaranteed money beyond this season.
It’s not clear how aggressive the Bulls are being, but the fit makes some sense. Even after adding Powell and drafting Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain, Chicago could still use more punch on offense. The Bulls finished 29th in offensive rating after the trade deadline last season, then lost Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons in free agency.
Mathurin’s production has stayed steady. After being acquired by the Clippers from Indiana as part of the Ivica Zubac trade in February, he put up 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.0 minutes per game over 26 appearances, including one start. For the Pacers to open the season, he had averaged 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 28 games.
The biggest dip came from deep. Mathurin shot 37.2% on 5.6 three-point attempts per game with Indiana, then fell to 20.7% on 3.2 tries per contest in Los Angeles. He entered last season as a career 34.2% shooter from three.
Mathurin can still accept the qualifying offer if he wants, a move that would give him trade veto rights in 2026/27 and set him up for unrestricted free agency in 2027. But the expectation is that he would prefer a multiyear deal, either with the Clippers or elsewhere.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, is still working through the fallout from the Kawhi Leonard situation. The trade involving Leonard will not be finalized until after the NBA finishes its investigation into whether the team circumvented the salary cap to funnel additional money to the star forward. The Clippers have been able to handle smaller business, including Tuesday’s Johni Broome deal, but they may want that issue resolved before making a bigger move such as a long-term Mathurin contract or a sign-and-trade that brings back salary.
In Other News...
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But the fit question is still doing a lot of work here. Watson is expected to command a significant contract, and the Bulls would have to decide whether to commit more draft capital to a player with limited proven production while their own young core remains unsettled. Patrick Williams is part of the equation too, and the broader warning for Chicago is simple enough: in a roster that still needs clarity, another expensive wing gamble could close off more paths than it opens. [Read more 🡒]
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For a franchise trying to rebuild without getting buried, that is not nothing. A finish in the play-in range or somewhere in the middle of the pack would probably read as a step forward in this environment, especially if the Bulls can show signs that the new pieces fit and that Caleb Wilson can be the kind of talent fans are already hoping will help drive the turnaround. [Read more 🡒]
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Not every part of the early read has been as encouraging, though. Questions are already circling around Noa Essengue after his summer showing, and Dailyn Swain has also become a talking point in the wake of his recent performances and the reaction around him. For a Bulls team trying to sort out which young pieces can actually stick, those mixed signals matter a lot more than any distant GOAT debate. [Read more 🡒]