Celtics should steer clear of potential pursuit of promising free-agent guard

Being a restricted free agent in the NBA often requires patience. The process of a player in that situation securing their next contract can be agonizingly slow. Bennedict Mathurin is now experiencing that firsthand.

However, it's clear that the Boston Celtics are among the teams who shouldn't swoop in to sign him.

When he finally lands his next deal, the former All-Rookie First Team selection could command $10 million or more for the upcoming campaign. Boston is $1.7 million under the luxury tax. With its sights set on resetting the repeater tax this year, Mathurin isn't going to persuade the organization to acquire him and navigate how to get back under that threshold -- or, more improbably, remain above that line.

The financial aspect is one matter. There's also the roster-building flexibility the Celtics would gain from resetting the repeater tax. It's a move that would make it easier to load up around Jayson Tatum again. That approach, operating over the second apron, helped them become NBA champions again in 2023-24.

Beyond that, there are also on-court reasons to avoid joining the market for a microwave scorer, who nearly helped the Indiana Pacers knock off the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals.

Why the Celtics should pass on pursuing Bennedict Mathurin

What the 24-year-old brings to the table is the ability to come off the bench and unleash an offensive avalanche.

He has averaged 16.2 points per game over his four years in the Association. He's coming off a campaign in which he generated a career-high 17.6 per contest while splitting the season between the Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers. He's also productive on the glass. Mathurin's career rebounding rate is 4.7 per tilt, snagging 1.1 on offense.

No one is questioning if the Montreal native is talented enough to contribute as an NBA rotation player. But his style of play, relying on a high usage rate, wouldn't fit well in Boston.

Not only are there better players for that responsibility on the roster, such as Tatum, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard, but he doesn't offer much as a facilitator, turns it over at a higher rate than one would like, and he's a streaky three-point shooter.

Adding to why he's a poor fit with the Celtics, he'd be joining a team with a crowded depth chart at the wing position. As previously outlined, having multiple players from a cluster that already includes promising players like Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh figures to be common next season.

Mathurin's presence would unnecessarily add to a logjam. And not only would he eat into the development of burgeoning talents like those listed above, but there's also the question of chemistry.

How would a player fighting to carve out his place in the NBA and shoulder an increased workload respond to a reduction in minutes after averaging nearly 30 for his career? It's a similar rationale for why they shouldn't sign some of the most established names that remain available in free agency.

This isn't a video game where factors like that are irrelevant. Boston has one roster spot left; the Celtics are better off not using it on Mathurin. Instead, if they fill that vacancy, a better choice would be second-round pick Dillon Mitchell.

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