Could Pacers rookie Ben Mathurin be next DeMar DeRozan? ESPN's Richard Jefferson thinks so

Pacers rookie Ben Mathurin has burst onto the scene, averaging 21 points through his first seven games while shooting 45.1%.

ESPN’s Richard Jefferson joined Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post and talked about his early impressions.

“He might not win rookie of the year because I think (Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero’s) overall rebounds, points and assists, that's going to be there. I think Benn is going to be an elite scorer. He's gonna put up numbers where in the last 10 years, maybe 15 years, he could have been Rookie of the Year two or three times, but maybe not this year. He's a 6-7 wing that can do it all, like a DeMar DeRozan. Those guys that people make it seem like they grow on trees, but they don't grow on trees. There's going to be a slump, because it's 82 games. But when you get that early confidence, he's gonna be like, ‘I want to see if I can score 40. I want to see if I can score 50.’ Hopefully that's his mentality. (Coach) Rick Carlisle is not notoriously great with young players. So the fact that Rick is giving him that push, it's impressive to me.”

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DeRozan also made his NBA debut at 20, averaging 8.6 points per game. By his second season in the league, he was up to 17.2 points per game. Through 13 seasons, DeRozan is a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA player. Safe to say the Pacers would lock that future in for Mathurin.

Listen to the whole podcast here. The Mathurin conversation starts around the 20-minute mark.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers Bennedict Mathurin draws DeMar DeRozan comp from Richard Jefferson