Bennedict Mathurin Rumors

Eastern Notes: Mathurin, Embiid, George, Ivey, Risacher

November 18th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers’ losing streak stretched to eight games on Monday but there was a silver lining in their loss to the red-hot Pistons, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star points out. Bennedict Mathurin, who had missed 11 games due to a toe sprain, scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half.

Mathurin asserts that the team has the ability to turn things around.

“We’re 1-13 right now,” Mathurin said. “There’s teams in the NBA that have won 10 games in a row. Why can’t we be the team that wins 10 games in a row? It’s just about believing. It’s just about doing what’s right for our team. … People act like it’s the end of the world. If we were 1-57 I’d say maybe, but it’s 1-13. We’ve played 14 games. It’s not even 15% percent of the season, so I’m still positive, man.”

Center Isaiah Jackson feels the same way.

“I think energy is everything,” he said. “One guy gets going and it can give us a spark. I think that’s all you need. We’re just gonna continue to keep going.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Joel Embiid is listed as doubtful due to right knee injury management for the Sixers’ game against Toronto on Wednesday, Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice tweets. Paul George won’t play due to what the team describes as left knee injury recovery. Embiid hasn’t played since Nov. 8. George made his season debut on Monday and played 21 minutes, in which he contributed nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a win over the Clippers.
The Pistons assigned guard Jaden Ivey to their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, for conditioning purposes, their PR department tweets. A restricted free agent after this season, Ivey hasn’t appeared in a game after undergoing right knee surgery during training camp. Ivey hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since New Year’s Day, when he suffered a fractured left fibula.
Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher missed his team’s game against the Pistons on Tuesday due to a left hip contusion but he should return soon, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He suffered a nasty fall during a dunk attempt against the Suns on Sunday. Risacher’s legs swung up and he somersaulted and crashed to the floor, landing on his left side.

Injury Notes: Wemby, Harper, Herro, Bam, Mathurin, Allen

November 16th, 2025 at 3:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama missed his first game of the season on Sunday against Sacramento, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Head coach Mitch Johnson indicated the French center was held out for precautionary reasons after experiencing left calf soreness.

“It’s just something that he felt,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there was a specific play. Obviously, we’ve seen around this league recently, the calf-tightness thing is not something you want to take lightly. So, [we’ve] just got to get some more information. Don’t want to push it there.”

Johnson also provided an injury update on No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, Wright adds. The 19-year-old guard is making progress from a left calf strain and is no longer wearing a walking boot.

“It’s getting better,” Johnson said. “He’s out of the boot. You’ve just got to build that thing up. For every day that you were in the boot or off the court, you’ve probably got to hit it on the other side. It’ll be good to have him back on the court ramping up pretty soon.”

Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Heat guard Tyler Herro, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2024/25, practiced on Sunday for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in September, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. While the 25-year-old was happy to return to the court, his season debut isn’t necessarily imminent. “It felt great, just being out there with my teammates, being on the court with them first time all season,” Herro said with a smile. “So it felt great to be in the drills. My foot is getting better. I’ve been rehabbing around the clock every day since my surgery, trying to get back as soon as I can and I’m looking at about a week or two hopefully, if there are no setbacks. So we’ll see what happens.”
Three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo also returned to practice on Sunday, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, but the Heat big man will miss his sixth straight game on Monday due to a left big toe sprain. “A lot less pain that I had,” Adebayo said of his toe injury. “A lot less. So I’m working toward getting out there.” Head coach Erik Spoelstra said neither player has an official timeline for return. “It was great to have (Herro) and Bam on that third unit today,” Spoelstra said, per Winderman. “That third unit looked like they had a boost of energy and confidence with those two in it. So we’ll just keep on building. Don’t have a timeline on them, but obviously that’s a big step today.”
Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin, who has missed the past 11 games with a right great toe sprain, has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Monday’s matchup in Detroit, the team announced (via Twitter). Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files hears the Montreal native is on track to return tomorrow (Twitter link). Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, was off to a strong start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two games.
Suns guard Grayson Allen suffered a right quad contusion in the first half of Thursday’s win over Indiana and didn’t return for the second. He will missed Sunday’s contest against Atlanta and is considered day-to-day going forward, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “We’ll continue to see how he gets out of this,” head coach Jordan Ott said after Saturday’s practice. “Stick to day-to-day. We just walked through a lot today. Nothing up and down, nothing live. Good to have these two days in between. We need it. It doesn’t seem too bad.”

Aaron Nesmith Projected To Miss Four Weeks With Sprained Knee

November 15th, 2025 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

After saying the Pacers appeared to have “dodged a bullet” when Aaron Nesmith was injured on Thursday, coach Rick Carlisle told reporters tonight that his small forward is expected to miss four weeks, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

Nesmith has been diagnosed with a sprained left knee, and he and the team are grateful that there was no ligament damage, Carlisle added.

“It’s likely going to be at least four weeks, so talk to me on the 15th (of December),” Carlisle said in his pregame press conference. “But it’s very good news. Very, very good news. He’s not in a brace. He’s walking. I say it’s likely going to be four weeks, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be less. It’s unclear at this time, but he’s doing very well and the news was very, very good.”

As Dopirak details, Nesmith injured the knee when his right foot came down on teammate Jeremiah Robinson-Earl‘s left foot. Nesmith’s right leg slid after the collision, causing his left knee to buckle. He rolled off the floor and had to be helped to the locker room.

Nesmith played a crucial role in Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals last season and has been asked to carry more of the scoring load as the Pacers have been decimated by injuries during a 1-11 start. He’s averaging a career-high 15.5 PPG through 11 games, but his shooting numbers have declined sharply to 36.7% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range.

Carlisle offered some encouraging injury news on Saturday as Bennedict Mathurin is nearing a return from a right great toe sprain. Mathurin scored 36 and 26 points in the first two games of the season before being sidelined.

“He’s getting close,” Carlisle said. “We did a simulated game kind of workout this morning. He went through things in prep today. He’s moving in a good direction.”

Pacers’ Toppin Out At Least One Month, Mathurin Week To Week

October 28th, 2025 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of key Pacers rotation players will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, who said on Tuesday that forward Obi Toppin will be out for at least one month as a result of his right hamstring strain, while guard Bennedict Mathurin is considered “week to week” due to a right great toe sprain, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

The Pacers entered their opener last week preparing to be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season as he recovers from an Achilles tear and have since added several new names to their injury report.

Toppin sustained his injury during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota, while Mathurin’s occurred in Saturday’s loss in Memphis when he tripped over Jock Landale‘s foot on his way to the basket. According to Carlisle, both players will undergo more testing when the Pacers return home following the last game of their road trip on Wednesday in Dallas.

“I can’t give you a definitive answer with either guy,” Carlisle said. “But they’re gonna miss some time.”

According to Carlisle, Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) did some “court work” on Tuesday but isn’t ready to play yet, while Taelon Peter (right groin strain) is “doing better” but is “not there yet” either. Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) will undergo additional testing on his foot when the team returns to Indianapolis, Carlisle added.

T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain) and Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction) were doing some work near the end of Tuesday’s practice, tweets Dopirak, though the Pacers have previously indicated that both players will be out until at least November 9.

With injuries hitting the team hard at virtually every position except center, the Pacers made a roster move on Tuesday, waiving big man James Wiseman to add guard Mac McClung. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, Indiana should soon qualify for at least one hardship exception as well.

A hardship exception allows a team to temporarily exceed the standard 15-man roster limit if at least four players have missed three consecutive games for health reasons and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks. Players signed via the hardship exception receive 10-day contracts.

Bennedict Mathurin Out With Toe Sprain

October 26th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Bennedict Mathurin will miss Sunday’s Pacers game in Minnesota with a right great toe sprain, reports Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).

Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star adds (via Twitter) that Mathurin is currently in a walking boot, and, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, will undergo imaging on his foot tomorrow in Dallas.

Now possessing a much larger role due to injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell, along with the departure of Myles Turner, Mathurin has averaged 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in the Pacers’ first two games, posting .548/.500/.885 shooting splits.

Mathurin joins a growing Indiana injury list that also includes Andrew Nembhard, Johnny Furphy, Kam Jones, and Taelon Peter in addition to Haliburton and McConnell, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.

Maggi notes that Carlisle has yet to give a timetable for Mathurin’s return.

Pacers Notes: Injuries, Mathurin, Peter, Nembhard, Carlisle

October 25th, 2025 at 10:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers were playing without six injured guards — Tyrese Haliburton (torn Achilles), T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain), Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction), Quenton Jackson (right hamstring strain), Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) and Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) — during Saturday’s contest in Memphis (Twitter link).

Two more — rookie Taelon Peter (sore right groin) and Bennedict Mathurin (sore right foot) — were forced to exit the blowout loss after sustaining their own injuries, according to the team (Twitter links).

It’s an extremely unfortunate and seemingly unprecedented situation, as the reigning Eastern Conference champions now only have two healthy guards — Ben Sheppard and two-way player RayJ Dennis — on the roster just two games into the season. And even Sheppard chipped a tooth on Saturday, per Tony East of Circle City Spin (Twitter video link).

The Pacers may soon qualify for a hardship exception (perhaps more than one), depending on the severity of some of the team’s injuries.

We have more on the Pacers:

Head coach Rick Carlisle said after Saturday’s game that Mathurin’s injury is specifically in the “forefoot” and he may undergo imaging tomorrow, assuming the Pacers can find somewhere to do it in Minneapolis on Sunday (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, was walking gingerly in the locker room, though he wasn’t in a walking boot or using crutches, Dopirak adds (via Twitter).
It’s unclear how long Nembhard will be out after exiting Indiana’s season-opener against Oklahoma City. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Substack link) provides more context on when the injury occurred, stating that Nembhard appeared to get tangled up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the first half of Thursday’s game and immediately grabbed his left arm.
Carlisle was incensed with the officials in the double-overtime thriller against the Thunder. As Dopirak writes (subscription required), two controversial plays involving timeouts went against Indiana during the nail-biting loss, one of which resulted in a technical foul on Carlisle. “I’m not talking about the refs,” Carlisle said after the game. “If I talk about the refs, I’m going to get fined an exorbitant amount of money.”

Pacers Notes: Jones, Turner, Mathurin, Nesmith

October 22nd, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

After being arrested on Monday for alleged erratic driving, Pacers rookie Kam Jones was determined to apologize, both to his team and to the public, writes Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star.

“I’m deeply sorry to the Pacers organization and the fans,” Jones said. “This was a very, very traumatic experience for me. I’ve never been through anything like this, but definitely a mistake that I’ve learned from. … It won’t happen again. I’m deeply sorry to the organization and I’m looking forward to letting this one go past and get back to work.”

Subsequent reporting indicated that Jones told police he was running late for practice. Dopirak clarifies that while the Pacers didn’t actually hold a practice on Monday, Jones was on his way to the team facility for treatment and rehab on the back injury that has prevented him from participating in preseason.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle backed Jones publicly, telling reporters that the rookie was insistent on making his apologies and vouching for his character, which Carlisle described as “exemplary.”

“My feeling is that this is going to turn out to be a speeding ticket and probably not much more,” Carlisle said. “The kid thought he was going to be late to practice so he was going too fast. I’m not going to get into much more about it than that.”

We have more from the Pacers:

Longtime Pacers center Myles Turner didn’t expect to be changing teams when this summer began, writes Eric Nehm for The Athletic. “I thought that we would be on the same page in terms of where I’m at in my career, being 29 years old, heading into my prime and just knowing what I wanted from this next contract,” Turner said. “But we, unfortunately, just weren’t aligned. It was a surprise because I had a great, great conversation with the front office before I left, and I really thought that we were aligned for the future. So, it was kind of a shock that our heads weren’t together.” While there were conflicting reports over the summer about what the Pacers were offering Turner, Nehm hears that they never exceeded about $22MM per year for three seasons. Underwhelmed by Indiana’s proposal, Turner and his agent began looking around the league for alternatives, which resulted in him becoming the newest starting center for the division rival Bucks.
Bennedict Mathurin was one of 12 eligible players who didn’t sign a rookie scale extension by Monday’s deadline, but he’s not stressing about it, Dopirak writes in a separate story. “It’s not that big of a deal, man,” Mathurin said. “Obviously, I would’ve loved to, but I’m not worried about that. It’s just about going into the game, going into the season with my mind straight knowing that, you know what? I’m going to have a great season. I can actually be who I’ve been wanting to be.” Mathurin had been considered unlikely to receive an extension, given the multitude of higher-value contracts already on the roster. This season, he will have an opportunity to show Indiana and the league who he can be with a bigger opportunity.
After being widely viewed as an afterthought to start his career with the Celtics, Aaron Nesmith is more appreciative of his spot with the Pacers than ever after signing a two-year extension to stay with the team, Dopirak writes. “It’s awesome,” Nesmith said. “Second contract is a big deal for a lot of guys and for this one, it was really, like I said, just really stamping that I want to bring a championship to this city and continue to build this thing up. That was all this deal was about.” Carlisle is happy to have Nesmith under contract for the next four seasons: “He’s a proven starter on a championship-caliber team. The opportunity to keep him in the fold for an additional two years is a great event for the franchise. Happy for him. Happy for the organization.”

No Rookie Scale Extensions For Rockets’ Eason, 11 Others

October 20th, 2025 at 5:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets and forward Tari Eason failed to come to terms on a rookie scale extension ahead of the 5:00 pm Central time deadline on Monday, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Entering the day, Eason looked like one of the top remaining candidates to sign a rookie scale extension, along with Nuggets wing Christian Braun and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels. However, while Braun and Daniels completed deals worth $25MM annually, the Rockets and Eason were unable to find common ground “on multiple fronts,” according to Charania.

That wording suggests the two sides not have seen eye to eye on both years and dollars, or perhaps they disagreed over how the end of a potential extension would be structured in terms of options and/or guaranteed money.

According to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), the Rockets and Eason’s camp had been “far apart in valuation” for weeks and weren’t able to bridge that gap despite an 11th hour push from the team, which was in position to work out an agreement with Eason after extending Kevin Durant over the weekend.

Eason is one of 12 players who didn’t sign rookie scale extensions prior to Monday’s deadline despite being eligible. Those players will now be on track for restricted free agency when their rookie scale contracts expire during the 2026 offseason.

Here’s that full list of players, sorted by their 2022 draft position and with their projected 2026 qualifying offers included in parentheses:

Jaden Ivey, Pistons ($13,402,098)
Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers ($12,256,222)
Jeremy Sochan, Spurs ($9,615,393)
Ousmane Dieng, Thunder ($9,132,437)
Jalen Duren, Pistons ($8,966,188)
Ochai Agbaji, Raptors ($8,879,483)
Mark Williams, Suns ($8,774,590)
Tari Eason, Rockets ($8,014,182)
Dalen Terry, Bulls ($7,661,348)
Malaki Branham, Wizards ($7,110,593)
Walker Kessler, Jazz ($7,064,702)
Peyton Watson, Nuggets ($6,534,714)

Those qualifying offers, which must be issued in order to make the player a restricted free agent, are subject to change depending on whether or not the player meets the starter criteria next season. A player drafted in the top 14 who falls short of the criteria would have a qualifying offer worth $8,774,590. A player who was drafted between No. 10 and No. 30 and achieves the starter criteria would see the value of his QO increase to $9,615,393.

A team that issues a qualifying offer to a potential restricted free agent gains the right of first refusal on that player and can match any offer sheet he signs with a rival suitor. A player who doesn’t get a QO next June would hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.

Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Thunder teammates Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Kings forward Keegan Murray, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, and Heat forward Nikola Jovic joined Braun and Daniels in signing rookie scale extensions, bringing the total for 2025 to nine. The details on those deals can be viewed here.

Pacers Notes: Backup Guard, Peter, Mathurin, Huff

October 19th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pacers are entering the season without a clear plan for the backup point guard spot behind Andrew Nembhard, writes Dustin Dopirak for The Indy Star. Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire season with an Achilles tear; steadfast backup T.J. McConnell is out at least a few more weeks with a hamstring strain; and Kam Jones, the No. 35 pick in the 2025 draft, is on a similar timeline due to a back injury.

Indiana had bad luck with the veterans it brought in with the hopes of filling the spot. Monte Morris had a calf strain that resulted in the Pacers backing off their plan to sign him, while Delon Wright sustained a head injury in the preseason and was subsequently waived. Cameron Payne made it through the preseason healthy, but Dopirak writes that he was unable to integrate into the Pacers’ system.

“It didn’t work out,” said head coach Rick Carlisle.

With few options heading into the first month of the season, Dopirak writes that third-year guard Ben Sheppard may be asked to tap into his collegiate point guard roots. He also notes that another free agent move is not out of the question.

“We’re looking at everything,” Carlisle said. “The waiver wire. We’re looking at people’s nephews and uncles and everything else, but good point guards aren’t growing on trees. We’re going to have to be creative.”

We have more from around the Pacers:

One very creative solution to the aforementioned point guard problem comes in the form of this year’s 54th overall pick Taelon Peter, Dopirak writes in the same story. Despite never averaging more than 2.3 assists per game in college, Peter has shown a knack for play-making in the preseason, handing out nearly 3.3 assists to 1.3 turnovers in 24.1 minutes per game. According to Dopirak, Carlisle asked Peter during the team’s second preseason game if he’d ever played point guard, then proceeded to let him run the offense for the second unit in Friday’s preseason finale. “It’s easy to sprint to the corners and knock down shots,” Peter said. “But being able to get everybody where they need to be and know every spot on every play, it’s something that is a challenge, but it’s something they’ve been great about helping me transition into. They’ve been really gracious with me throughout the process.”
Bennedict Mathurin is looking forward to having what he considers a consistent role, Dopirak writes in a separate piece. Mathurin’s scoring ability has been a useful tool for Indiana when its offense bogs down, but his style has sometimes clashed with the team’s fast-paced, ball movement-based attack, resulting in Mathurin being shuffled in and out of the starting unit as needed. With the team more in need of his scoring than ever, the fourth-year guard is likely to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. “I’ll have a little bit more freedom to go out there to be myself, you know, within the system,” he said. “I look forward to going out there and accomplishing a lot of great things.” Carlisle wants him to make quick decisions and take advantage of easy reads, rather than play hero ball, feedback which Mathurin is taking seriously. “It’s just about watching a lot of film, seeing what’s in front of me and taking advantage of every little thing, whether it’s about timing or spacing,” he said.
Indiana is seeking an answer at the center position after losing Myles Turner in free agency. For new Pacer Jay Huff, it’s the opportunity he has been waiting for, Dopirak writes in a profile of the big man. This marks the fifth NBA home in five years for Huff, who has played for the Lakers, Wizards, Nuggets, and Grizzlies. Last season was something of a breakout for the big man, as he averaged 6.9 points and 0.9 blocks in 11.7 minutes per game while shooting 40.5% from three and making a career-high 64 appearances. “Opportunity at the right place and right time is everything in the league,” Huff said. “I think that was just what I was waiting for.” While not comparing them as players, Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan believes Huff can slot in well as a facsimile of the role previously played by Turner. “When a need came up for a stretch five this summer, he was the name that our analytics staff has always targeted,” Buchanan said. “He was just a great fit for us. His age, his shooting, his IQ. So we thought this is a good match for us.”

Extension Rumors: Daniels, Ivey, Duren, Eason, Braun, Sharpe

October 18th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

After talking to agents and executives around the league, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required) that there will likely be few, if any, rookie scale extensions reached before Monday’s deadline that carry an average annual value larger than $25MM. Fischer adds that teams have become more cautious about handing out large deals because of the restrictions that accompany the first and second aprons.

He points to Hawks guard Dyson Daniels as someone who should be in good position to match the five-year, $150MM extensions that teammate Jalen Johnson and Orlando guard Jalen Suggs both received last offseason. However, sources tell Fischer that Atlanta’s front office is willing to let Daniels test restricted free agency next year if he won’t sign on the team’s terms.

Fischer notes that Daniels’ agent, Daniel Moldovan, also represents Josh Giddey, who just went through a months-long standoff with the Bulls in restricted free agency. Fischer adds that Daniels would likely be entering a more robust market for restricted free agents than the one that Giddey faced.

Fischer offers more information on players eligible for rookie scale extensions:

Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren haven’t made much progress in their extension talks with the Pistons, sources tell Fischer. He suggests that management might be extra cautious with Ivey following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week. Ivey’s camp expects an active market if he does hit free agency, even though he’s also coming off a fractured left tibia that cost him most of last season. Sources describe negotiations with Duren as “tepid” so far, per Fischer, who adds that his representatives are asking for a new deal worth much more than $30MM in AAV and are also optimistic about his prospects on the open market.
The Rockets are hoping to sign Tari Eason to an extension that’s “significantly lower” than the five-year, $122MM deal that Jabari Smith Jr. accepted this summer, according to Fischer. The outcome of the Eason negotiations will affect what Houston is willing to give Kevin Durant in his extension talks, Fischer adds. With Amen Thompson expected to receive a max extension next offseason, Houston is being careful about not overloading its salary commitments. Fischer talked to capologists who said they would recommend limiting any Durant offers to $80MM over two years. As Fischer notes, it’s not certain that Durant would remain with the Rockets at that number.
It seems unlikely that Christian Braun will reach an extension agreement with the Nuggets, Fischer states. Sources tell him that Denver is already sending signals that it doesn’t want to become a taxpaying team next season, while Braun and his camp are hoping for a deal at $25MM in average annual value. The Nuggets are also holding extension talks with Peyton Watson, but Fischer suggests a new deal with him may not happen unless they can’t agree to terms with Braun.
Fischer views Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe as the most likely remaining candidate to hammer out an extension before the deadline. Rival teams that Fischer contacted expect Portland to give Sharpe something in the neighborhood of $100MM over four years.
Suns center Mark Williams, Jazz center Walker Kessler and Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin all appear headed for restricted free agency, Fischer states. Of the three, Fischer points to Mathurin as the most likely to change teams because of Indiana’s reluctance to add more long-term salary.