The Clippers have pulled the qualifying offer for Bennedict Mathurin, clearing the way for him to join the Pelicans as an unrestricted free agent, according to Spotrac contributor Keith Smith.
Mathurin had been tethered to restricted free agency by an $8.8MM qualifying offer, which meant any outside team would have needed either an offer sheet the Clippers could match or a sign-and-trade arrangement with Los Angeles. With that offer withdrawn, those limits are gone, and Mathurin is free to finalize the two-year deal he agreed to with New Orleans earlier this week.
That contract is reportedly worth $16MM and includes a player option. It’s the kind of short-term setup that gives Mathurin a path back to unrestricted free agency as soon as next offseason, even though he drew interest from the Bulls, Bucks, and Mavericks earlier this summer. He also had longer-term offers on the table with more total money, but chose the shorter deal instead.
The timing matters, too. July 13 was the deadline for a team to unilaterally rescind a restricted free agent’s qualifying offer, though clubs can still do it later if the player agrees. In this case, the Clippers have now done so.
Mathurin came to Los Angeles from Indiana in February as part of the Ivica Zubac trade, and he was productive right away. In 26 games with the Clippers, including one start, he averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.0 minutes per game. Before that, he put up 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 28 games for the Pacers to begin the 2025/26 season.
The shot profile tells the bigger story. Mathurin’s three-point percentage dropped sharply in Los Angeles, falling from 37.2% on 5.6 attempts per game to 20.7% on 3.2 tries a night. Entering last season, he was a career 34.2% shooter from deep.
A former sixth overall pick, Mathurin has built a reputation as a scorer who can put pressure on the rim and earn trips to the line. He’s made 83.8% of 5.1 free throw attempts per game across his four-year career. The flip side is the play-making: he has 502 career turnovers and 500 assists.
In New Orleans, Mathurin will join a backcourt that also includes Jordan Poole and 2025 lottery pick Jeremiah Fears. The Pelicans will use part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, and that move will leave them at 16 players on standard contracts, one above the limit. So another roster move is coming before the season begins.
New Orleans has been shopping Jordan Hawkins to create that space. If that doesn’t happen, the Pelicans could instead waive-and-stretch Hawkins. Today is the deadline for teams to use that waive-and-stretch provision.
In Other News...
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Clippers Just Opened A Door For Bennedict Mathurin In The West
The offseason market around the Western Conference took another turn when Los Angeles moved on from Bennedict Mathurin, a decision that cleared the path for the wing to reach unrestricted free agency. For a Clippers team that has been sorting through its own roster priorities, the move was a notable one because it removed the matching-rights layer and opened the door for Mathurin to choose his next stop without the usual restrictions.
New Orleans appears to have moved fastest, lining up a two-year, $16 million contract for Mathurin as it looks to keep adding young athletic talent to the mix. The Clippers, meanwhile, are left watching a player they could have controlled now head toward a fresh opportunity in the West, while the rest of the conference keeps reshuffling around them. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Still Face Two Tough Roster Decisions Before Opening Night
The Clippers have already cleared one bit of offseason housekeeping by withdrawing Bennedict Mathurins qualifying offer, which opened the door for him to land with the New Orleans Pelicans. But the more immediate issue in Los Angeles is what the roster will look like once the dust settles, because the team is still juggling a crowded group of standard contracts as opening night gets closer.
A completed Kawhi Leonard trade with Toronto could push the Clippers to 17 players, leaving them in need of two cuts before the regular season begins. That puts a handful of names in the conversation, including Cam Christie, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Brook Lopez, Gradey Dick, Isaiah Jackson and Johni Broome, with the front office still sorting through the final call. [Read more 🡒]