The Bucks still have a fallback plan if Peyton Watson slips away in restricted free agency, and it comes with a much lower price tag.
Milwaukee is currently pushing hard for Watson, but if Denver keeps him out of reach, Bennedict Mathurin stands out as a more affordable wing option. He hasn’t drawn much interest on the RFA market, and that lack of competition could make him easier for the Bucks to land without paying Watson-level costs.
That doesn’t mean Mathurin is the same kind of prize. He’s clearly the lesser player right now, and he hasn’t helped winning in the same way Watson has early in his career.
Still, there’s real upside here. Mathurin is a downhill scorer who was part of a Finals run just 13 months ago, and he’s shown he can step into a bigger offensive role when injuries open the door.
The 2025 Finals offered another glimpse of that. Mathurin put up a pair of 20-plus-point games, including 24 in Game 7 after Tyrese Haliburton went down for the Pacers. For a 24-year-old who has shown he can live in that 16-to-18-point range no matter the setting, that kind of production has obvious appeal.
He also brings a physical style that could fit Milwaukee’s roster construction. At 6-foot-5, Mathurin plays with force, and his best defense usually comes on the ball. That could make him useful as a wing option alongside the Bucks’ crowded group of guards, especially against bigger ball-dominant wings.
The problem is that the warts are real, and they’re loud. Mathurin has yet to prove he can be a consistently efficient scorer, even when given more responsibility.
Last season, with Haliburton out, his role expanded, but his efficiency stayed shaky and his scoring barely moved. The Pacers weren’t exactly a great scoring environment, and those issues followed him after he was traded to the Clippers as well.
His shooting from deep has also been a question mark. He did knock down 37% of his threes during his Pacers tenure last season before the trade, but his overall field goal percentage still sat around 43%, which left his offensive value in doubt. He attacks relentlessly and isn’t afraid to fire, but that doesn’t automatically add up to better team offense over a full season.
That’s the gamble for Milwaukee. The Bucks have no assurance they can turn Mathurin into a more efficient, more impactful player, and his habit of taking tough shots has stuck with him whether he’s been in the Finals or playing for a tanking team in March.
Even so, his talent keeps him on the radar. He won’t be Milwaukee’s first choice, but if the Bucks can’t land a better option at the right price, Mathurin could be the next name they circle.
In Other News...
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The wrinkle is timing, which makes the whole thing more of a summer conversation than a done deal. The players at the center of the discussion cannot be moved until early September, and the contractual setup around a rookie deal and future restricted free agency adds another layer to the calculus. For now, it reads like one of those possibilities that makes sense on paper, even if the path from idea to actual transaction is still hazy. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Still Have Two Costly Giannis Era Mistakes To Untangle
The Bucks are staring at a familiar kind of roster squeeze, with 17 players on the books and only 15 spots available once Opening Night arrives. In practical terms, that means Milwaukee has to sort through the edges of the roster while also weighing the bigger-picture fallout from the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade that reshaped the teams direction.
Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma stand out as the most obvious names to move, largely because their contracts are heavy and their fit now looks awkward in a post-Giannis setup. Turner is tied to a multi-year deal that includes a player option in 2028-29, while Kuzma is on an expiring contract but still set to make $20.5 million this season, leaving the Bucks with some expensive decisions to untangle before the roster gets finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Still Have 3 Major Decisions That Could Reshape The Rotation
Milwaukees offseason still has a few moving parts left, and the front office may not be done shaping the roster before camp fully settles in. The Bucks are weighing extension decisions on two players with just one year left on their contracts, while also keeping an eye on the trade market as they look for ways to add another piece without upsetting the balance of the group.
There is also the practical matter of trimming the roster to 15 players before the season begins, which means some standard contracts will have to go. With a surplus of guards already in the mix, the backcourt looks like the most obvious place for Milwaukee to make room, but the way the Bucks handle those choices could end up changing the rotation in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]