The New Orleans Pelicans were linked to many different players as the 2026 trade deadline approached. One of those players was former Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin. According to Jake Fischer, New Orleans and Indiana discussed a Mathurin-for-Yves Missi swap, but the Pacers wanted to wait and hold out for a bigger return.
And a bigger return is exactly what they got, flipping Mathurin and draft capital to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac to fill the center void left by the departure of Myles Turner.
The idea of acquiring Mathurin was one that many Pels supporters, myself included, were excited about. At 23 years old, he's a former top-five pick, is a crafty shot creator, and was shooting 37.2 percent from three for the Pacers this season. For a Pels team that's bottom five in three's made, attempted, and three-point percentage, adding a floor spacer was a fun idea, and his natural scoring ability would have helped boost the team's offensive rating, which sits at seventh-worst in the league this season.
But since arriving in LA, it's been crystal clear that the Pelicans dodged a massive bullet by not acquiring Mathurin. Since joining the Clippers, he's been a negative floor spacer, struggled to score efficiently, and has been turnover-prone.
Mathurin's early struggles in LA show the Pelicans dodged trouble
Through Mathurin's first eight games with the Clippers, he is averaging 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, but is shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 17.2 percent from beyond the arc. For a Pelicans team that has already had problems with ball movement, adding a high-volume, inefficient guard who has proven he's an inconsistent floor spacer to the mix would have been problematic.
But by avoiding the acquisition of Mathurin, the Pelicans didn't just avoid a problem this season—they also avoided one long-term. This offseason, he is set to be a restricted free agent, which brings a decision on what to pay him long-term. This was a decision Indiana clearly didn't want to make, which is why they traded him.
Players with Mathurin's archetype often perplex front offices, as it's hard to really gauge his value on the open market. While he is a talented scorer and can get hot in an instant, when defenses take that part of his game away, he becomes unplayable because he doesn't offer much on the playmaking, floor spacing, or defensive fronts.
We saw in the 2025 offseason that teams don't place a high value on one-dimensional high-volume scorers, as shown by how Brooklyn handled the Cam Thomas situation. Similar to Mathurin, Thomas can score and be a bucket-getter, but when he is a primary scoring option, your team's ceiling is much lower. This was why Thomas was forced to settle for a qualifying offer as an RFA despite coming off a season in which he averaged 24.0 points per game.
Some Pelicans fans were disappointed to see another Western Conference team swoop in and land Bennedict Mathurin at the trade deadline. His play with the Clippers is proof New Orleans dodged a massive bullet.