Brandon Ingram cruising towards max deal, unlikely to hit restricted market

He may have missed the deadline pre-season for a rookie contract extension but make no mistake Brandon  Ingram will get a max contract in the offseason.

Brandon Ingram’s breakout season with the New Orleans Pelicans could net him as much as $166 million as he enters restricted free agency and while that number is mind-boggling there are a few key things to remember.

While Jayson Tatum‘s ascension with the Boston Celtics has taken some of the attention away from Ingram it should not detract from the sensational season he is having.

Players who produce the numbers Ingram has this season are all on a max contract or are about to be if you include Jayson Tatum‘s upcoming rookie extension.

Despite talking heads across the mainstream media telling us all Ingram won’t have the same impact next to Zion Williamson but they’ve been proven wrong in a short sample so far.

Ingram has logged 12 games alongside Zion and has averaged 22.1 points per game on 15.7 shots per game. Ingram has averaged 24.8 ppg on almost 18 shots per game so in those 12 games, there has been a slight dip from the statistics which delivered him All-Star recognition.

These numbers are still fantastic and when you consider Ingram initially had some growing pains when Williamson made his debut it should give Pelicans fans all the confidence in the world this pair can be a successful 1-2 punch for years to come.

His 34-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers last week and 29-point outing against the Cleveland Cavaliers gave even more of an indication the combo are learning to play together and the supplementary parts on the team are getting the balance right of who to go to for a bucket.

Brandon Ingram Ingram is currently 15th in the league in scoring with a true shooting percentage of 60.3 while ranking 20th in field goals attempted per game.

Ingram’s PER rating of 20.56 also has him ranked inside the top 10 among small forwards in the entire league.

His shooting splits on the season of 47% from the field, 40% from three and 86% at the line also make it possible for him to join the prestigious 50/40/90 club.

Ingram’s ceiling is so high that if you consider the attention Zion will attract from the opposition he will get, the increased open shots on the perimeter as well as more space opening up in the mid-range, the absolute best version of Ingram could see him hit those shooting splits while averaging more than 20 points per game.

Stephen Curry is the only current player to have completed such a season while Khris Middleton is on track to achieve it for the Milwaukee Bucks this year. That is how good Ingram can be.