3 Teams Who Could Force Clippers' Hand in Bennedict Mathurin's Free Agency

The Los Angeles Clippers have two big free agency decisions to make on Bennedict Mathurin and John Collins. While they should have an interest in keeping both players, the Clippers have to be savvy about their salary cap. They have $39 million in cap space before re-signing Mathurin and Collins.

They can create more by moving on from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez, but the Clippers would love to keep Mathurin and Collins' annual salaries as low as possible so that they can still be active in chasing other free agents.

This may be easier said than done. The Clippers may face some competition in Mathurin's restricted free agency. LA will have a chance to match any offer sheet for the dynamic scorer, but it will likely have a walkaway price. Several teams have the right combination of cap space and need for Mathurin, which could complicate things for the Clippers.

1. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls will have more cap space than any team in the league this summer. This gives them a ton of flexibility, but also a lot of holes to fill. Besides Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, they don't have any surefire long-term pieces. Mathurin could be their starting shooting guard for the future.

What makes the Bulls a threat to poach Mathurin is that they can afford to wait thanks to their cap space. Most teams hesitate to make offers to restricted free agents because they don't want to tie up their cap space until the team that has the free agent makes a decision on the offer sheet. The Bulls, on the other hand, wouldn't be precluded from making other moves while they wait for the Clippers' decision on Mathurin.

2. Brooklyn Nets

The Nets will have over $45 million in cap space. While some of that may go towards retaining their players with team options, they will have plenty of room to be active in free agency. Plus, since they don't control their first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft, they will have a desire to spend in free agency.

Mathurin makes them better in the immediate without accelerating their timeline. As a 23-year-old, he fits their timeline. The Nets have Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton, and a slew of promising young point guards, but don't have anyone at shooting guard or small forward. Mathurin could be their long-term solution there, so they could be willing to pay significantly more than the Clippers would be comfortable matching.

3. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons don't have as much cap space as the other two teams, but they have a need for Mathurin's offensive juice. Their offensive struggles have been made obvious in their first-round series against the Orlando Magic. While Mathurin doesn't solve their shooting woes, he will help with their shot creation and scoring troubles.

Detroit lacks a dynamic scorer off the bench, a role Mathurin is very comfortable playing. They will have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception starting at $15.1 million per year to offer Mathurin. They could create even more cap space by moving on from Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert. In that case, they could be a real threat to make a very difficult-to-match offer for Mathurin.

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