New Orleans Pelicans Sign Bennedict Mathurin to Clippers for $16 Million Over Two-Year De
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The New Orleans Pelicans and ex-Los Angeles Clippers wing Bennedict Mathurin have agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
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Yahoo SportsRestricted free-agent wing Bennedict Mathurin, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers from the Indiana Pacers last season, has agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
ESPNSources: Pels reach 2-year deal with Mathurin Bennedict Mathurin has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Pelicans, including a player option, sources told ESPN.
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The Clippers previously tendered Mathurin a qualifying offer, making him a free agent. Insider Jake Fischer reported Wednesday that the Clippers "haven't yet withdrawn" the qualifying offer but "will indeed work with Mathurin" to facilitate his move to New Orleans.
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Yahoo SportsThe deal comes with a player option, according to Charania, who also reported Wednesday that Mathurin's representatives approached the Clippers about withdrawing his $8.8 million qualifying offer and that Mathurin eyed flexibility and the earliest path to unrestricted free agency next summer.
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On Feb. 5, 2026, the Pacers traded him to the Clippers in a multi-player and multi-pick deal that, of note, sent center Ivica Zubac to Indiana. Mathurin served as the Clippers' sixth man, averaging 17.4 PPG.
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Yahoo SportsShortly after his return to the lineup, Mathurin found himself on the move, traded to the Clippers along with center Isaiah Jackson and three draft picks — including a protected 2026 first-rounder that wound up turning into No. 5 overall pick Keaton Wagler — in the deal that brought Ivica Zubac to Indiana. Granted the freedom to cook in Tyronn Lue's second unit, Mathurin posted career highs in usage rate, points, rebounds and assists per 36 minutes and PER over the final 26 games in L.A.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Yahoo Sports Mathurin brings a physical, north-south slashing game from the perimeter, averaging seven or more drives to the basket per game in each of his four pro seasons and taking 60% or more of his shots in the lane, according to Cleaning the Glass. It's a relentless approach that can produce big games, like the career-high-tying 38 points in 34 minutes he poured in for the Clippers against the Denver Nuggets back in February:
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02 Bleacher Report The Indiana Pacers selected the former Arizona star with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. The 24-year-old played three-plus seasons in Indiana and helped the Pacers reach the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals and the 2025 NBA Finals.
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Sources (3)
- bleacherreport
- espn
- yahoosports