Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with one of their big mid-season trade acquisitions, high-scoring guard Bennedict Mathurin.
Basic Information
Height: 6’5
Weight: 210 pounds
Position: Shooting Guard
Age: 23 (turns 24 in a month)
Years in NBA: 4
Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.1 turnovers in 28.0 minutes per game across 26 games played (1 start) on 42.6/20.7/85.8 (3.2 3PA, 7.3 FTA) shooting splits (56.1 True Shooting)
Expectations
When Mathurin was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the Ivica Zubac deal, expectations for him were crystal clear: be the Clippers sixth man off the bench. Some fans thought he might get a starting spot, but based on the Clippers’ roster and Mathurin’s own track record, a lead bench role seemed far more likely. Expectations for Mathurin were similar production to his time with the Pacers, meaning scoring in the mid-to-upper teens with an emphasis on downhill attacking and free throw generation.
Reality
For once with the Clippers, reality matched expectations. Mathurin came in and immediately started playing huge minutes off the bench, closing his second game on the team in a win over the Rockets. In his third outing, he scored 38 points in a fantastic win over Denver while adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and all of the talk was about how the Clippers had got a steal in him. However, after playing 30+ minutes in his second through sixth games as a Clipper, Mathurin’s minutes tailed off some as his production dipped. For the next couple of weeks, Mathurin’s minutes varied, but he consistently provided a heavy volume of scoring with some ancillary production.
Then, in late March, it was announced that Mathurin had injured his toe and would miss at least three games. He ended up missing four, during which the Clippers went 2-2, before returning for the stretch run. Unfortunately, Mathurin’s play did not quite recover, as he scored 20 or more points in just three of those final 10 games (he did so in nine of 16 before the injury) and scored under 10 points in four of those games (only happened in three of the first 16).
Alongside the scoring, Clippers fans’ opinions shifted drastically on Mathurin during his tenure. The early, halcyon days of thinking the Clippers had landed a star guard for Zu quickly shifted towards frustration at Mathurin’s inconsistencies as a defender, decision-maker, and playmaker. By the end of the season, many Clippers fans were ready to move on, even with some of Mathurin’s huge performances for the team. However, there was definitely still a segment of the fanbase enamored by Mathurins’ tools, intensity, and bucket-getting acumen.
Future with Clippers
Mathurin’s future with the Clippers is perhaps the murkiest of any player who finished the season on the team. As a restricted free agent, the Clippers can ultimately decide to keep him if they want, as they can match any offer that another team puts forth. However, if another team gives him a big enough offer, it seems fairly likely that the Clippers will let him walk.
Mathurin is so complicated because he’s very much an “eye of the beholder” type player. You can look at him and see a prototypical sized two-guard with plus athleticism that’s a free throw and downhill attacking machine, all signs of a player with real star potential. You can also assess him as a poor decision-maker with a shaky outside shot and a defensive impact that is far worse than one would think given his tools.
That plays into the contract status in a major way. Based on his poor advanced metrics and lack of significant development as a player through four years, one could easily construct an argument that Mathurin is worth a contract not that much above the minimum, like a 3/18. On the other hand, he’s just entering his prime, has real raw production, and was a key piece on a team that nearly won a championship just last year, and his camp could use that information to want something at 4/100.
Ultimately, we don’t know whether Mathurin cares at all about staying with the Clippers, or how the Clippers feel about him, and those are the two most important elements to all of this. My guess is that Mathurin’s market is more lukewarm than he and his camp might expect, and he returns to the Clippers on a deal in between the two above, like a 3/50 – but nothing would surprise me.