Insider Casts Doubt On Bulls' Reported Bennedict Mathurin Interest

With the NBA offseason action winding down, attention has turned to restricted free agency. Last summer provided a lengthy standoff between Josh Giddey and the Bulls, Quentin Grimes and the 76ers, Cam Thomas and the Nets and Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors that extended into September.

This year, the Bulls are once again involved in restricted free agency, but not with one of their own free agents. Chicago has been linked to restricted free agents Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson and Bennedict Mathurin due to its cap space, though the Bulls face some obstacles in prying each of the young talents away from their current teams.

Mathurin seems like the most likely candidate, with the Pistons and Nuggets working hard to retain Duren and Watson, respectively. Marc Stein and Michael Scotto have reported that the Bulls are interested in a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Clippers to land Mathurin.

However, a Chicago Bulls insider threw some water on the Mathurin rumors on Friday. According to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, the Bulls' interest in the young wing has been "overstated."

"The Bulls recognize how early they sit in this rebuild, and the desire for talent at any position will trump stylistic need for a roster still discovering its long-term identity," Lorenzi wrote. "Mathurin, who turned 24 in June, remains a talented young scorer who could be worth a flyer. But Chicago values two things at this stage: roster flexibility and acquiring future assets. Mathurin made roughly $9.2 million this past season, and his next contract is widely expected to exceed that figure in annual value."  

Chicago is one of three teams currently under the $165 million salary cap, per Spotrac. It still has the $9.4 million room exception available, but otherwise, the franchise could only exceed the salary cap if it were re-signing its own free agents or executing a sign-and-trade. Mathurin, seeking a significant pay raise, would not be able to slot into that $9.4 million exception.

With the Bulls entering a rebuild, Chicago's front office has signaled that it wants to maintain financial flexibility so that it can acquire assets by helping facilitate trades. At the deadline last year, the Bulls added two second-round draft picks in exchange for taking on Dario Saric's contract, then flipped Saric and Kevin Huerter for Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley.

Chicago also absorbed Nic Claxton prior to this summer's NBA Draft in a deal that sent Julius Randle to Brooklyn. The only player that the Bulls gave up was forward Mouhamadou Gueye, who the team signed for the final two games last season. It was because of Chicago's financial flexibility that it was able to add a starting-caliber center in Claxton for virtually no trade-off.

Acquiring Mathurin would inject a talented 24-year-old wing into Chicago's young core, but at what cost? The Bulls would likely need to send draft capital to the Clippers — which Bryson Graham and the front office have signaled they're not interested in doing — and any long-term contract necessary to sign Mathurin would remove the Bulls' flexibility in helping facilitate deals with other teams.

Last year's restricted free agency saga extended at least another month, with Giddey signing his deal on Sep. 24. It could certainly take just as long for Duren, Watson and Mathurin to finalize their next contracts this time as well.