It’s pretty safe to say the LA Clippers’ future would be a lot stronger with a 24-year-old former sixth overall pick, who just averaged 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, in it. This level of promising young talent doesn’t grow on trees, which is why it's so important to secure these types of players for the long run.
Well, that player is Bennedict Mathurin, and instead of bringing him back for the next few seasons, the Clippers withdrew his qualifying offer and let him walk for nothing to the New Orleans Pelicans. This is a prime example of poor roster management on Lawrence Frank’s end, and a massive step in the wrong direction for the organization, as losing Mathurin makes the young core significantly weaker.
Now, the Clippers’ best age-friendly talents are Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler, Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders, Baba Miller, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. These players are good and have potential, but most of them are unproven.
Mathurin, on the other hand, already had a name for himself and was on the path to developing into an All-Star.
Optimism around the Clippers’ future changed with the loss of Mathurin
When the LA Clippers acquired the Canadian native at the 2026 trade deadline, fans all over the world were pumped. Bennedict Mathurin is a player who can go and get a bucket on any occasion, and he's shown several times that he has the tools to become a star at the highest level.
Ultimately, adding Mathurin was a smart chess move by Lawrence Frank that made the Clippers’ future extremely bright, and he was getting non-stop praise for it.
Months later, after losing him for literally nothing, LA’s future immediately went from being in good hands to questionable.
This is not to say they can’t be good down the road. It’s more so the fact that, at the moment, there’s so much uncertainty.
Outside of Darius Garland, Jordan Miller, and Kobe Sanders, you don’t know what you’re getting with the rest of the young core.
Yanic Konan Niderhauser didn’t play a sufficient amount of time as a rookie and is coming off a major foot injury, while Keaton Wagler and Baba Miller haven’t even played their first regular-season minutes.
And, if you compare what the Clippers have to some other teams around the league, for example, the Atlanta Hawks or Charlotte Hornets, there’s a clear gap in the brightness of futures.
That said, the Clippers made a mistake and allowed Mathurin to walk away, and sooner or later, they’ll see why. He’s not a player that should just be let go, despite the flaws he has presented.
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