Bennedict Mathurin isn’t hiding how he feels about his new stop in New Orleans.
After finishing last season with the Clippers, Mathurin landed with the Pelicans on a two-year, $16 million deal, and the 24-year-old made it clear he believes the fit matters just as much as the contract.
“It’s great to be where a team really wants me,” Mathurin told Fox 8 New Orleans’ Madeline Adams. “You know what I’m saying?
It goes both ways. We have great teammates, we have a great coaching staff, a great front office, a great owner.”
Whatever message that was meant to send, the Pelicans will care most about the production. Mathurin put up 17.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 28 games with the Clippers, and his deal also includes a player option for next season.
In Denver, DeMar DeRozan is moving into a reserve role, and the Nuggets sound comfortable with that arrangement. Coach David Adelman said the team plans to keep last season’s starting group of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic intact, which leaves the six-time All-Star to anchor the second unit.
Adelman said the exact rotation around DeRozan is still being sorted out.
“I think, for me, I’ve got to figure it out through feel in the preseason,” Adelman said. “Who am I taking out and why?”
Age is part of the equation, too, with DeRozan now 37.
“DeMar, he’s an older guy,” Adelman said. “I’ve got to make sure I take care of him too.”
So the role is set in broad strokes, even if the details are still coming together.
In Indiana, Kelly Oubre Jr. is already picking up on the Pacers’ pace. After just a few practices, he said the adjustment is ongoing, but the style is exactly what he wanted.
“Every day is a learning process,” Oubre said. “It’s gonna be like that all year. But one thing I’ve learned is that I love this style of play.”
He pointed to the team’s quick-trigger offense and its emphasis on sharing the ball, saying he enjoys playing in the Pacers’ “0.5” system.
Center Jay Huff has noticed the same thing, especially with the second unit.
“We play fast,” Huff said. “That’s something the Pacers pride themselves on.”
Huff also praised Oubre as a strong addition, though Rick Carlisle wasn’t ready to hand out any early praise after only three practices.
“We got quite a ways to go in a lot of areas,” Carlisle said.
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Beals recent health track record is what makes this especially notable for Los Angeles. He appeared in only eight games last season and has not played more than 60 games in a year since 2018-19, and that sits alongside other availability concerns already on the Clippers books, including Brandon Ingrams partially torn Achilles and Jordan Millers absence. For now, the team is left waiting on another important piece, with the season approaching and no clear sign yet of when Beal will be back in uniform. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Clippers, the appeal is obvious. A two-way contract would give Knecht a clearer path to minutes on a wing group already thinned by injuries to Jordan Miller, Bradley Beal and Brandon Ingram at the start of the season. Knecht has already shown enough scoring touch and floor spacing to make him an intriguing fit, even if no official move is on the board yet. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Suddenly Have A Backup Forward Problem They Need Solved
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Instead, Sanders has been slowed by a left hip impingement and has missed some preseason practices, leaving the Clippers without a clean look at him early on. The next checkpoint comes in the second preseason game against the Toronto Raptors, where the team hopes to evaluate him if he is cleared to return and finally get a better sense of whether the backup forward answer is already in house. [Read more 🡒]