The Los Angeles Clippers have not yet rescinded the qualifying offer for Bennedict Mathurin, though he agreed to a deal with the team.
New Orleans Pelicans fans have been celebrating the addition of wing Bennedict Mathurin, but the wing is actually not yet on the roster. There are still a couple of tasks to take care of before they can put pen to paper, and one is taking far too long.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on a Bleacher Report live stream last night that the Los Angeles Clippers are still holding on to his qualifying offer. It was previously reported by another insider, Keith Smith, that the QO had been rescinded. Now, it appears as though that was inaccurate.
"I have it confirmed as of right before we went on air that the Clippers, at this time, have not formally rescinded the qualifying offer for Bennedict Mathurin," said Fischer. Meaning that he is still not officially on the Pelicans roster, which was known, as they are still waiting on the corresponding move to take place.
That means that the Clippers could still receive compensation from New Orleans in order to make the deal official, seeing as though they can match whatever they want.
Wednesday's massive punishment against Los Angeles in the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration case, in which the league stripped the team of five first-round picks, could actually play into this. The Clippers are now all of a sudden desperately in need of more draft assets and could now at least look to seek a couple of second rounders for the Pelicans in this deal.
New Orleans also does still need to make a trade to make the deal happen, and were going to be prepared to make a trade in the first place. They are still over both the roster limit and over the tax line. Dealing with the Clippers will make the entire process easier.
An example of a trade that could play out would be the Pelicans sending Jordan Hawkins and two second-round picks to Los Angeles on a sign-and-trade. Hawkins is making just about one million less than Mathurin's new deal would cost next season, making it an easy swap.
If Los Angeles doesn't want Hawkins, they could potentially route him through to a third team. Someone could want to take a chance on him.
No matter what, New Orleans is going to be doing everything they can to secure Mathurin. He is a player they have coveted for a long time, and aren't going to let him slip through their fingers.
