Indiana Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin is arguably having his best season but he might be on the move ahead of the trade deadline.
The 22-year-old “is being monitored by nearly every team seen as a buyer at the deadline,” according to Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Woike. “But because the Pacers are playing such good basketball, the team is expected to seek a player it values while trying to recoup the first-round pick it spent on Mathurin in a deal,” he adds.
Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin Being ‘Monitored By Nearly Every Team’
Considering the source, the Los Angeles Lakers are presumably among the teams with an eye on Mathurin. This could be in an effort to upgrade their starting backcourt, which doesn’t consistently lighten LeBron James and Anthony Davis‘s burden. To that point, though Mathurin has made an effort to be more selective with the shots he takes, he’s potent offensively.
Mathurin is athletic, physical, confident, crafty and has enough touch to score from anywhere on the floor. This season, he’s averaging 16.4 points per game, even while not being as aggressive as he’d like to be. He’s averaged 20.0 points per 36 minutes over the course of his young career.
All of that being said, Mathurin could also help their woeful bench. The Lakers’ second unit scoring has been mediocre in the first half of 2024-25, averaging 24.5 points per game; 29th in the NBA.
Interestingly, the New York Knicks are the only team whose bench is scoring less than L.A.’s. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is infamous for how many minutes he plays his starters. Nonetheless, New York could still look to fortify their second unit with a player like Mathurin. It’s worth noting that they, like Los Angeles, have been linked to Utah Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson.
Home Cooking
The Toronto Raptors have also emerged as a candidate to make moves at the trade deadline.
It doesn’t seem likely that the Pacers would double-back to add Bruce Brown, even if he’s on an expiring contract. However, big men like Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk could hold some value. Not only has their center corps been ravaged by injury, Myles Turner‘s future in Indiana is being questioned again.
Given the role that Mathurin has been asked to play, Raptors 3-and-D wing Ochai Agbaji is another name to watch. Agbaji has played pretty well this season but has a team option on his contract for 2025-26. If they want to avoid what could become tense contract negotiations, trading the Kansas product is a feasible option. Of course, they’ll also have to decide whether they want to commit to Mathurin by the 2026 offseason as well. Still, he’s been more consistent than Agbaji since being drafted, which could make it easier to settle on a number.
They might even be able to get a home country discount from the Montreal native.
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