Brandon Ingram is now the latest NBA All-Star to be moved as part of one of the wildest trade deadlines in years.
Veteran NBA writer Chris Haynes reported on Wednesday that the New Orleans Pelicans are trading the veteran forward Ingram to the Toronto Raptors. Shams Charania of ESPN adds that the Pelicans will be receiving guard Bruce Brown Jr, big man Kelly Olynyk, one first-round pick, and one second-round pick in exchange for Ingram.
The 27-year-old Ingram, who was an All-Star in 2020, was widely expected to be moved by the Pelicans. New Orleans is a miserable 12-39 this season, and Ingram will be a free agent in the summer (after failing to agree to terms on a contract extension with the Pelicans).
But what was not expected was for the Raptors, who are themselves a rebuilding team at 16-35 this season, to be the winners of the Ingram sweepstakes. Apparently, Toronto views Ingram, who has averaged 20 points per game in six straight seasons, as a potential foundational piece for them moving forward. The Raptors also now get Ingram’s Bird rights in the trade (meaning they can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him this offseason).
Meanwhile, New Orleans gets an expiring contract in Brown, a veteran floor spacer in Olynyk (who is signed through 2026), and a bit of draft capital for a player in Ingram who might have left for nothing this summer anyway. That is not a bad haul and is probably a better outcome for the rest of the conference than Ingram ending up with this previously rumored suitor.
