Bennedict Mathurin is headed to New Orleans. How long he’ll stay in the Big Easy remains to be seen.
The former Arizona Wildcats standout has signed a two-year $16 million deal with the Pelicans that includes a player option, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
According to Charania, Mathurin chose flexibility and an earlier route to unrestricted free agency versus longer-term offers that would have come with total team control.
Mathurin was traded last season to the Los Angeles Clippers after spending the first three-and-a-half seasons with the Indiana Pacers. The 24-year-old averaged 17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists last year.
Mathurin only started one game with the Clippers out of 26 appearances. He’ll have a better opportunity to earn a starting role in New Orleans, where his main competition will be Trey Murphy and Saddiq Bey. The Pelicans are coming off a 26-56 season.
New Orleans has had its eye on Mathurin for some time, according to Charania, who reported the team has aggressively pursued him for over a year.
Mathurin becomes the first Arizona alum to play for New Orleans since Solomon Hill and Stanley Johnson played for them in 2019.
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