If the Indiana Pacers are going to sign Bennedict Mathurin to a new deal next summer, are they going to make him a starter, or are they okay with letting a potential $25 million per year player come off the bench? This is a question Indiana needs to find an answer to this season, and it's not an easy one.
In a recent episode of the "Locked On Pacers" podcast, Rhett Bauer questioned what Mathurin's long-term role in Indiana is going to be.
"What is Bennedict Mathurin's role going to be moving forward? Because if he is making $25 million a year, is he starting? Because we have a team, assuming they get some sort of starting center, that probably should be Haliburton-Nembhard-Nesmith-Siakam-and whoever that starting center is. I don't think we've seen enough from Mathurin to justify putting him in there, so now you've got $25 million coming off the bench?" Bauer said.
So what should the Pacers do with Bennedict Mathurin?
This is a question that the Pacers may not be able to comfortably answer this season, but they're going to have to do what they can because it will ultimately pay long-term dividends.
On one hand, keeping Mathurin around past this season would be a great idea because of his potential and pure scoring talent. Additionally, he has taken it up another level this season, he is mostly buying into the Pacers' system as he plays with more defensive effort and is moving the ball more, and he is showcasing exactly what makes him so special.
However, signing him to a new deal could be worth about $25 million per season. Not only would this likely move the Pacers into the luxury tax, which they have avoided for two decades, but it also creates a new problem. It would be hard to justify keeping someone with this salary on the bench, but it's also difficult to justify bumping someone like Aaron Nesmith out of the lineup in favor of the Canadian native.
The Pacers have to make a decision in the summer, and while it's not going to be an easy one, there is a solution to their problem: sign Mathurin and keep him on the bench.
Mathurin has already proven that he can play any role the Pacers need him to, whether it be as a sixth man, a spot starter, or a real contributor in the lineup (which is what is happening this season).
In 15 games this season (all starts), the Arizona alum is averaging 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 44.6% from the field and 41.1% from deep. These aren't MVP numbers, but the Pacers needed him to step up, and he has done exactly that.
It may not seem like it, but going from being the team's starting shooting guard to a sixth man isn't necessarily a downgrade for Mathurin. This would allow him to put more of an emphasis on scoring as the leading bucket-getter of the second unit, which is probably his best role anyway. Plus, just because he would be coming off the bench, that doesn't mean he's not going to be important to the team's long-term success.
Though it would be difficult to keep a player who could be making about $25 million a year on the bench, it would be even more difficult to justify moving on from him for mostly financial reasons or bumping someone else in the lineup in favor of him.
This is going to be a tough call, but it's better to just re-sign Mathurin and deal with the rest later. Soon enough, the Pacers are likely going to realize that, and it may lead to him sticking around for the foreseeable future as they look to re-enter the title picture.