Could Ingram be on his way out of New Orleans?
On Tuesday (Aug. 10), local U.S. media outlet Clutch Point reported on the trade market for Brandon Ingram. “The New Orleans Pelicans are actively exploring a trade for Ingram, but the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Atlanta Hawks are unlikely to be interested in him,” according to the report.
The situation is somewhat pathetic for the one-time New Orleans ace. Ingram was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. At the time, Ingram was considered the future of the Lakers after Kobe Bryant. But when LeBron James joined the Lakers and they wanted to add a superstar to challenge for a championship, Ingram was shipped to 카지노사이트 추천 New Orleans in exchange for Anthony Davis.
In New Orleans, Ingram developed into an ace. He won the 2019-2020 Developmental Player of the Year award and was named an All-Star, reaching his full potential. It looked like Ingram was the future of New Orleans.
But then along came a superstar in the form of Zion Williamson. Williamson arrived in New Orleans as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft with massive expectations. He missed most of his rookie season with an injury, but his performance upon returning was impressive. Naturally, New Orleans turned to Williamson to be their ace, with Ingram taking on the role of supporting him.
Williamson missed the entire 2021-2022 season due to injury and only played 29 games in the 2022-2023 season. As a result, the ace role in New Orleans reverted back to Ingram. As the ace, Ingram has certainly been disappointing. He wasn’t a dominant scorer or a force to be reckoned with, and in the end, New Orleans was more or less Williamson’s team.
Once Williamson returned to full health in the 2023-2024 season, New Orleans flourished. Ingram’s role on the team was diminished because the team had a solid forward option in Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III. They’ve established themselves as the NBA’s leading 3&D-type forwards.
While Ingram’s stats are better than either of them, Williamson’s supporting role and the importance of 3&D in modern basketball trends means that New Orleans was better with either of them in the lineup than with Ingram.
New Orleans began to look at trading Ingram because they had a replacement on the team, and they were looking to bolster their offense with Ingram, who had become a liability. The problem is, no team would be interested in him.
Ingram is a player who can easily average 20+ points per game. But he’s a mid-range shooter, and his ball-handling isn’t great, which means you need to have a guard to utilize him. Plus, his defense isn’t great. Ingram is a tricky player to utilize.
The biggest problem is that Ingram is a free agent after the 2024-2025 season. Ingram is making $36 million, and he’s sure to get a lot more than that as a free agent. There’s no reason for a team that trades for him to sign him for just one year and then let him walk. That means they’d have to guarantee him a big contract.
In many ways, signing Ingram is a calculated move. He’s gone from being the ace of the team to being the second best player. Will he be in a new uniform next season?