The Detroit Pistons are not finished making moves just yet, and restricted free agent guard Bennedict Mathurin is one player they have shown interest in as of late
So far, the Detroit Pistons have done anything but sit on their hands during the offseason. Starting with the 2026 NBA Draft, the Pistons made moves to land point guard Ebuka Okorie and center Ugonna Onyenso while also parting ways with Isaiah Stewart, so Detroit kicked off the summer period with a bang in that respect. In the days and weeks that followed, the Pistons orchestrated deals to bring in power forward John Collins, shooting guard Isaiah Joe, forward Taurean Prince and guard Gary Harris while dealing away Marcus Sasser and Caris LeVert, so Detroit’s squad is going to look decidedly different when the 2026-27 campaign tips off.
For the most part, the Pistons are believed to have completed the lion’s share of their offseason activity, but they still have time and the money necessary to pull off additional transactions, and new information has emerged that aligns with a possibility that Pistons Roundtable highlighted earlier in the week.
During the Summer League when the basketball world gathered in Las Vegas, the Pistons reportedly showed interest in guard Bennedict Mathurin, who currently stands as a restricted free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers holding his rights at the moment. Given that structure, LA holds the leverage in this situation, which is similar to Detroit’s position with Jalen Duren at the moment, so conventional wisdom points to the possibility of a sign-and-trade in Mathurin’s case if another squad has enough interest to dish out assets for the defensive-minded four-year NBA vet.
“Benedict Mathurin, though, there are teams out there that do have interest,” NBA Insider Brett Siegel said. “One that we can report that had conversations with him and his camp in Las Vegas was the Detroit Pistons. They are a team that’s not done yet. They’re looking at ways they can possibly further improve their roster, so maybe Bennedict Mathurin is a guy that they can buy low on.”
Last season, Mathurin split time between the Indiana Pacers and the Clippers as the result of a mid-season trade, and the 6-5, 210 pound Arizona product averaged over 17 points and five rebounds per game in each setting. Mathurin was a regular started with the Pacers before switching teams, but a fresh start with a winning organization such as the Pistons could be an ideal solution for Mathurin moving forward.
”Maybe it’s a three-year, $30 million contract or something in that range where they can bring him in, pair him with Cade Cunningham and the other pieces they brought in during free agency,” Siegel said. “They are the new-look Pistons. Reigning one seed in the Eastern Conference making big moves, but they still have their Jalen Duren situation to figure out. Until that’s solved, I don’t think that they’re really going to look to do anything else.”
Now, the two teams would quite obviously need to agree to terms in order to facilitate this potential move, but the Pistons have future draft picks at their disposal and a willingness to explore all options as President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon has reiterated multiple times over the last several months.
“It comes down to the Clippers point of view of what would you be looking for in a sign-and-trade,” Siegel said. “Is there a guy out there on a bad contract that you could bring in and he would actually fit a role, whether that’s in the frontcourt or on the wing if you can’t get Peyton Watson.”
Although Mathurin is not much of a threat from three-point range with just over a 33% rate from downtown over the course of his career, his primary value would come on the defensive end of the court as a strong, athletic guard who can also score when asked to on the flip side. That profile does mesh with the foundations that the Pistons have built, so it’s an option that is worth exploring in case there is a deal to be made that both Detroit and Los Angeles would be comfortable with.
Siegel mentioned that the Clippers still want to bring Mathurin back, so it is clear that he did enough during his cameo with the organization to prove his value moving forward. So, the impetus then shifts to the Pistons in order to make a deal that would be attractive enough for the Clippers to move the 24-year old during the offseason.
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