Bennedict Mathurin had his ups and downs during his time with the Indiana Pacers. Sometimes, he looked like the best player on the court and was borderline unstoppable. But other times, he would go 0-for-10 from the field, make poor decisions, and play bad defense.
This is ultimately what led to Indiana deciding not to sign him to a new deal this upcoming summer and instead trading him to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac. And now, just a couple of months after the trade, Mathurin's new team is seeing firsthand just how bad it can get when he's not on his A-game.
Bennedict Mathurin has struggled greatly in his recent performances
The Canadian native ended the regular season with a bang, recording 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting, nine rebounds, eight assists, and a block in Los Angeles' 115-110 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
But in his games before that, it was a completely different story.
In his last 10 games before Sunday's finale, Mathurin averaged 13 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers while shooting 41% from the field and 21.1% from deep. This includes four games of scoring fewer than 10 points (including zero in five minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers on Apr. 10). Additionally, Clippers fans have even been complaining about him being too passive.
It's fair to assume that the Arizona alum is either just in a slump (everybody knows he can be better than this) or is still dealing with the toe injury that forced him to miss nearly a month with the Pacers and four games with the Clippers. Regardless, the ups and downs are nothing new for Mathurin, and depending on how he plays in the Play-In Tournament, his future might not be in Los Angeles either.
In a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Zach Lowe mentioned that Mathurin's play has not only hurt the trade, but it may have also hurt his value heading into his restricted free agency, and he questions whether the Clippers will even re-sign him.
"Mathurin slumped to the finish line, [and] has hurt both that trade for now and also his value in the offseason. It would be interesting to see if the Clippers even re-sign him if the number gets to a point where they are not comfortable with it," Lowe said.
To be fair, the pros have mostly outweighed the cons for Mathurin during his short Clippers tenure. He is averaging 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 42.6% from the field and 20.7% from beyond the arc (his efficiency, admittedly, is still a bit of a concern) and is mostly looking like a more well-rounded player. Or, at least, he is trying to become one.
The 23-year-old has an interesting and important offseason ahead of him. And with potentially just one more game left to play this season, he needs to remind the Clippers why they traded for him in the first place.