Brandon Ingram trade rumors: How Pelicans dealing All-Star impacts their reliance on Zion Williamson

Brandon Ingram was perhaps the single most consequential trade acquisition in the New Orleans Pelicans history. He was the centerpiece of their return for Anthony Davis, the player who was supposed to lead them into the future alongside Zion Williamson. 

In fairness to Ingram, he’s largely held up his end of the bargain. He’s a multi-time All-Star. It’s not his fault Williamson keeps getting hurt at the worst times. Those injuries have prevented the duo from making any meaningful progress in the postseason. The Pelicans haven’t won a playoff series since trading Davis. Now both Williamson and Ingram are nearing their primes, and it’s time for New Orleans to settle on a long-term direction. General manager David Griffin has vowed to be proactive in finding one.

“I think in the past we’ve always erred on the side of continuity,” Griffin said after the Pelicans were eliminated, “and our takeaway has always been ‘Let’s see this group healthy.’ [Now] I think we’ve seen this group enough. We had a really good opportunity to see Zion play a career high in games [with 70]. We saw it for segments of time well enough to understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

There is now a reasonable chance that the work the Pelicans are setting out to do will involve sending Ingram elsewhere. So where are these rumors coming from? Where might Ingram land? And what is going to happen to the two-time All-Star?

Why he’s in trade rumors

The short answer here is money. Ingram has only one season left on his contract. He is eligible for a four-year, $208 million extension this offseason. The Athletic’s Will Guillory has reported that New Orleans is unlikely to offer him that extension. His history of injuries, playoff disappointments and inconsistent skill set outside of scoring justify that reluctance. However, the Pelicans cannot afford to let him walk for nothing. Expensive or not, he is a valuable player. The Pelicans have holes at point guard and center that Ingram can help them fill.

He would do so without creating a hole on the wings. Zion…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/brandon-ingram-trade-rumors-how-pelicans-dealing-all-star-impacts-their-reliance-on-zion-williamson/

Author : Sam Quinn

Publish date : 2024-06-20 13:51:30

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