The Pelicans finally got their man, and they did it at a price that barely registered compared with where Bennedict Mathurin’s market was expected to land.
On Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Mathurin agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with New Orleans, complete with a player option. For a restricted free agent who entered the summer with plenty of attention but little real traction, that’s a sharp turn - and a major win for the Pelicans, who now bring him in at roughly $8 million per year.
Charania reported that Mathurin’s camp reached out to the Clippers about withdrawing his $8.8 million qualifying offer, opening the door to a cleaner path to New Orleans with more security. The bigger picture was simple: Mathurin chose flexibility and the quickest route to unrestricted free agency next summer over longer deals that would have tied him down more tightly.
There’s still a little paperwork to clear before everything becomes official. Jake Fischer reported shortly after the news broke that the Clippers have not yet withdrawn the qualifying offer, though they are expected to work with Mathurin and New Orleans to get the deal done. That also fits with the Pelicans sitting at 16 players on the roster, so a corresponding move is likely coming.
This was not a fast-moving recruitment. Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver had been tracking Mathurin for a while, with the guard first linked to New Orleans ahead of the 2026 trade deadline. After days of rumors that he was headed to the Pelicans, the front office finally landed the target it had been chasing.
As for what New Orleans is getting, the appeal is obvious. Mathurin, the former No. 6 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has made a name for himself as a scorer who can create his own shot and attack the rim. Last season he averaged 17.6 points per game, production the Pelicans are now adding for well under $10 million annually.
The concerns are real, too. His three-point shooting has been uneven, and his career mark from deep sits at 33.6 percent.
He’s been as high as 37.4 percent in 2023-24 and as low as 31.5 percent last season. There are also questions about how he functions off the ball and how that translates alongside New Orleans’ second unit.
Even with those issues, the contract changes the whole equation. Getting a 17.6-point scorer on this number is the kind of value that can reshape the rest of a team’s offseason. And with a player option giving him a path back to free agency next summer, Mathurin should arrive with something to prove in 2026-27.
That low price also changes the roster math in New Orleans. Earlier in the process, a Herb Jones for Mathurin sign-and-trade was floated as a possibility because many expected Mathurin to command much more money.
That’s no longer the case. Now, the more likely outcome is that the Pelicans clear room by moving a lesser piece.
Jordan Hawkins stands out as the name to watch. He’s on a deal worth just over $7 million next season, which lines up neatly with Mathurin’s contract. While this is not believed to be a sign-and-trade, Hawkins still looks like the most obvious candidate if New Orleans makes a related move.
Mathurin’s path has already included a stop in Los Angeles. After being traded at the deadline in the deal that sent Ivica Zubac to Indiana, there was a belief around the Clippers that he was set up for a breakout. Instead, he struggled through 26 appearances.
Now the breakout chase shifts again. It may not happen in California after all. It might happen in the Bayou.
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Pelicans Face A Costly Decision In Push To Land Bennedict Mathurin
The Pelicans have spent much of the offseason looking for another young scoring piece, and Bennedict Mathurin has emerged as a name to watch. The restricted free agent is reportedly weighing a sign-and-trade route to New Orleans, where the Pelicans are said to be the primary suitors, giving them a possible path to add a dynamic wing without waiting for the market to cool.
New Orleans, though, would have to make room to get it done, and that is where the decision gets tricky. Creating the necessary salary cap space could mean moving Jordan Hawkins, a cost the Pelicans would have to weigh against the appeal of landing Mathurin, while Mathurin is also considering the qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Clippers, leaving the situation very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Could Be Heading For A Tough Wing Decision After Mathurin
Jordan Hawkins has become part of the roster math in New Orleans as the Pelicans work through cap and depth questions around the wing. A social media report said the team is considering moving the young guard, who has averaged 8.0 points per game over his three seasons with the club, as part of a broader effort to sort out a crowded rotation while new head coach Jamahl Mosley tries to reshape the group.
The timing is notable because the Pelicans just added Mathurin, a scoring wing who put up 17.4 points per game last season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Between that arrival and the teams push to improve quickly, Hawkins now sits at the center of an uncomfortable choice about who fits long term and who may be used to open up the roster for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Have One Big Derik Queen Decision They Can't Get Wrong
The Pelicans are already looking ahead to a frontcourt decision that could shape their 2026-27 season, and Derik Queen sits at the center of it. New Orleans has to sort through what the center spot should look like as Queen develops, but the bigger question is how best to use him with Zion Williamson in a way that actually helps the team grow instead of cluttering the lane.
The case for bringing Queen off the bench is rooted in fit as much as patience. He and Williamson share enough stylistic overlap to make a starting pairing awkward, and last season the two were not a strong combination on the floor together. Giving Queen the second unit would let him get more comfortable in a setup built around his own game, while also giving the Pelicans a cleaner look at how he can become part of a rotation that works. [Read more 🡒]