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 With that offer withdrawn, those limits are gone, and Mathurin is free to finalize the two-year deal he agreed to with New Orleans earlier this week.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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Bennedict Mathurins arrival gives the Pelicans another young wing with real upside, but it also forces a roster conversation that was easy to avoid before the signing. New Orleans did not bring him in on a flier, either, with a two-year, $16 million deal that signals real intention. The challenge now is fitting him into a wing rotation that already has players who need minutes, touches and a clear path.
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Pelicans Are Still Betting On One Risky Offseason Strategy
The Pelicans offseason has been more about continuity than overhaul, with the front office keeping most of the roster intact and placing a significant bet on a new coaching staff to unlock better results. There is reason for some optimism in the additions of Bennedict Mathurin and Trendon Watford, both of whom bring offensive potential, but the larger picture still points to a group that looks a lot like last seasons team.
New Orleans still has the same questions hanging over it, especially from beyond the arc, around the rim and in the harder-to-quantify areas of toughness and physicality. For this approach to pay off, the Pelicans will need more than just incremental growth from individual players, because the roster moves on their own do not fully solve the problems that have kept this team from taking the next step. [Read more 🡒]