The New Orleans Pelicans have unfortunately appeared to re-register interest in Bennedict Mathurin, according to the Stein Line. Joe Dumars' front office originally had interest in the Arizona wing while he was still part of the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline, but nothing came to fruition. Mathurin has hit a stalemate, much like many other restricted free agents with the team that holds his rights, the LA Clippers. Mathurin played rather poorly for the Clippers after being the blue-chip prospect LA received in their deadline deal to send Ivica Zubac to Indy.
With the Clippers drafting Keaton Wagler at No. 5 and having Darius Garland, they’re in a position where Mathurin’s on-ball scoring style of play is no longer needed. That’s where the Pelicans enter the fold.
New Orleans is in a place where we’ve heard they are trying to create flexibility and still want to make some sort of roster changes in what has been a quiet offseason. To land Mathurin, a sign-and-trade would be the most likely route, and some have proposed a Herb Jones-for-Mathurin swap, which would be a disaster for the Pelicans.
Mathurin’s ceiling tops out lower than Jones’
I’ll start by reminding everyone that I am all for a potential Herb Jones trade.Â
He has seen his numbers decline over the past two seasons and could quickly become one of the worst contracts in the league if he continues to trend downward. However, Mathurin isn’t any better. To pay a guy like him $14-20 million per year to be another ball-stopping, score-first wing who isn’t a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter would be such a poor mistake. If you’re going to trade Herb Jones, you need to return one of three things: a starting center, a high-volume three-point shooter, or a middle tier three and d player. Mathurin is none of those things.
For his career, he’s a 33.6 percent three-point shooter and has shot 37.4 percent from three in 2023-24 and 37.2 percent in the first half of his season before being traded to the Clippers. From a numbers standpoint, you could argue he would be a great add for this team and help add some spacing around Zion Williamson, but his stats with the Clippers suggest otherwise.
In his 26 appearances with LA, he shot 20.7 percent from three, and it put a massive spotlight on how bad he was off the ball. He also shot 35.5 percent from three on catch-and-shoot threes according to NBA.com.
Don’t get me wrong, Mathurin is a strong, off-the-bench sixth-man type, but New Orleans has the perfect player for that role already in Saddiq Bey on a great contract. Bey is also levels better defensively and as a rebounder, two areas this roster is already not particularly strong in.
With players like Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson all needing their share of the pie offensively, it’s hard to imagine where someone like Mathurin slots in and thrives. Having those three players at the helm, you need players who can defend at a high level and play off the ball, and at his highest point, Jones is exactly that. If he gets back to 2023-24 form, he’s a top-five defender in the league with a 40 percent clip from three. That’s a higher ceiling than an on-ball 6-foot-5 scoring wing who is an iffy three-point shooter.
The Pelicans can’t afford to be a team that holds onto players forever and watches their value further diminish, but trading Mathurin for Jones would be another severe misstep by Joe Dumars.
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