Bennedict Mathurin is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, and this could spell doom for the Indiana Pacers as he hits restricted free agency next summer.
This past offseason, the Pacers chose not to sign Mathurin to a rookie-scale contract extension. Was it the right move? Probably. The Pacers are seemingly still looking to stay under the luxury tax as much as possible, and it might not make sense for them to potentially suffer financially to retain someone who may not be a good fit long-term.
But was it also a risky move? Absolutely. And now, the Pacers are starting to see exactly why maybe, just maybe, they should have locked Mathurin up for the long run when they had the chance.
Bennedict Mathurin could be playing himself out of Indiana
The Canadian native is playing lights-out for the Pacers right now. So much so that he may be in the midst of his best stretch as an NBA player so far.
In four games this season, Mathurin is averaging 27.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 51.7% from the field and 41.7% from deep. Additionally, he led the team in scoring three of these four games, which includes a fantastic 36-point performance in Indiana's opening night loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in double overtime.
These aren't just good numbers. These are elite numbers.
For some context, according to ESPN.com, Mathurin is averaging the exact same amount of PPG as Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker (who is shooting "just" 49.3% from the field and 34.5% from deep), who is the 11th-leading scorer in the NBA. Mathurin is also averaging more PPG than guys like Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Edwards.
Because he's only played four games, the Arizona alum isn't qualified to technically be among the league leaders. But if he keeps up this pace, it will be impossible for other teams not to look in his direction in free agency.
So what does all of this mean for Indiana? After all, Mathurin is a restricted free agent, so the team can just match any offer he gets.
This is true, but a score-first, 23-year-old wing who is fantastic in isolation is going to be a hot commodity in free agency, especially for rebuilding teams. In October, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that he believes Mathurin may be looking for $20-30 million per year in his next contract.
"I think Benn Mathurin certainly wants to be compensated in that same $20-$30 [million] ballpark...I think there's gonna be an opportunity for him without Tyrese Haliburton for much of the season to try to play his way into that number moving forward," Fischer said.
This would make him the third-highest-paid player in Indiana. Would the Pacers be willing to pay him this much, especially when guys like Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Obi Toppin are due for new contracts soon? Maybe not, but other teams 100% would be willing to make this happen.
So what should the Pacers do with Bennedict Mathurin next?
The Pacers need to re-sign Mathurin. In fact, they probably should've just given him his new contract this past offseason.
Mathurin can be incredibly streaky, and his hot start this season doesn't ignore that he's not a good playmaker (he is averaging 2.5 turnovers per game this season) or defender. However, when he's hot, he's borderline unstoppable.
He may not be the perfect fit in Indiana's system, but it hasn't mattered. The Pacers were just in the NBA Finals with him having an important role (and he even scored 24 points in the team's Game 7 loss), and he is clearly proving that he can be a legitimate contributor in the NBA.
It may be easier for me to say, given that it's not my money, but the Pacers should just give Mathurin what he wants and deal with any financial problems later. At the very least, re-sign him in the summer and trade him in the future. With his skillset, he should always have good trade value. But that's the thing, he shouldn't even be considered a trade asset. He should just be considered a key part of the Pacers' long-term success.
The Pacers can maybe make it back to the NBA Finals at some point without Mathurin, but they would be crazy to think it would be easy. He is a great player who is continuing to get better, and the team better hope he reaches his peak with them, and not another team looking to add a trophy to their collection.