Benedict Maturintwo-year deal with Pelicans was reported last month cost $16 million, but official contract Hoops Rumors has learned that it was actually a bit lower than this one.
Maturin will receive a guaranteed salary of $7,500,000 in 2026/27, with a second-year player option for 27/28 of $7,875,000. This brings the total value of the new guard contract to $15,375,000.
The Pelicans, who completed the Maturin deal with help exclusion of middle-level non-taxpayersthere is still almost exactly half of that exclusion ($7,544,000). However, New Orleans is operating just $4.1 million short of the luxury tax line and $5.7 million short of the first-stage hard cap Yossi Gozlan of CapSheetsso if a team is going to use up the rest of their MLE at some point during the preseason or season, they will need to shed some salary in the process.
We have a few more items of interest from the Southwest:
- Duke’s head coach John Scheer was the subject of NBA rumors in June when reporting is specified in Mavericks it was interesting to talk to him about their head coaching position. While he didn’t mention Dallas specifically, Scheier explained this week in a speech at The Glue Guys Podcast why he wasn’t interested in leaving the Blue Devils for the NBA job. “I couldn’t live with myself without finishing this thing” Shaer said, trans Grant Offset of Dallas Hoops Magazine. “I mean, that’s just the bottom line. And I’m in the one place where you rarely get your dream job when you’re 33. I’m very proud of what we’ve started and the continuation of what’s been built here, but I think we’ve got so much left to do. I just think we’ve got so much left to do. My family is here. This is home to me.”
- Matt McKenzie, Cooper Flagglongtime coach, talked to Mark Medina of RG.org on how the reigning Rookie of the Year spent the offseason and how Mavericks head coach Dusty May hopes to further develop Flagg’s game for year two and beyond, among other topics. “(May) has high expectations for Cooper, not just as a goalscorer, but as a complete player, as a player and as someone who plays both sides.” Mackenzie said.
- Was traded from the 60-win Pistons to the 25-win Grizzlies it’s the offseason, big man Isaiah Stewart says he is nonetheless “excited” about his new opportunity in Memphis, indicating during a public event Saturday that coming through a successful rebuilding process in Detroit allows him to provide a unique perspective on the Grizzlies’ young roster. “That’s the experience I can bring here to this group.” Stewart said, according to DeMichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “And also just letting them know that it’s important to be patient. We have to add up the days. It doesn’t happen overnight.”