The New Orleans Pelicans have the 10th pick in the NBA Draft and need for a new roster around Zion Williamson, but would they consider trading All-Star Brandon Ingram to get it?
This question has been floating around this offseason, as many think David Griffin will make a bold move to remake the roster around Zion.
Some have questioned Brandon Ingram’s long term fit around Zion considering they are both below average defenders at this point in their careers.
I am not one of those people, as I think having two stars under 25 is exactly what you want and that the team should build around their respective talents to make it work.
But that hasn’t stopped the speculation and a recent trade was proposed that might tempt some fans to re-think their position.
Pelicans: Would the Pelicans trade Brandon Ingram?
A group of ESPN insiders recently floated a trade idea that would completely change the Pelicans’ roster around Zion:
Phew! I have to give them credit for coming up with an interesting trade idea.
This would be an entirely new team that was more custom-made to work around Zion Williamson, but sacrifices two big pieces in Brandon Ingram and the 10th pick in a pretty deep NBA Draft.
This would be an admission that David Griffin made some poor choices when trading for Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams and would give him a chance for a fresh start.
I wouldn’t personally do this trade (more on that later) but it is worth considering why the Pelicans might choose to go this route.
Why the Pelicans might consider trading Brandon Ingram and the 10th pick in the NBA Draft
If the Pelicans wanted to remake their roster, this would be one way to do it. They are in the rare position to have the combination of star young players and draft assets to either land a superstar or get a package of good players.
This would be the latter, so the Pelicans would be getting back four guys, getting rid of Bledsoe’s contract, moving on from Steven Adams and giving up Brandon Ingram.
Ingram is the only real loss in that group, as Bledsoe and Adams weren’t great fits around Zion and the Pelicans have a ton of future draft picks, and already have a bunch of young players to develop in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kira Lewis Jr., Jaxson Hayes, Didi Louzada and Naji Marshall.
So the question is whether Turner, Sexton, Nance Jr. and Love are worth giving up a potential superstar in Brandon Ingram.
If you want spacing around Zion, this group would provide it, as Turner, Nance Jr. and Love can all shoot from range. You’re also getting a dynamic scorer in Sexton for the bench and the team wouldn’t be much worse defensively.
The Pelicans would have a deeper team with more versatile lineup options with a lot of scoring punch all over the place.
I have to admit, it’s a pretty tempting idea, but I still don’t think the Pelicans should do it.
Why the Pelicans shouldn’t trade Brandon Ingram
I think there are a couple of reasons that you don’t move Brandon Ingram in this particular type of trade.
Ingram is still very young and is already very good, an All-Star who wants to get better and will work to do so. He committed to staying with the Pelicans long-term and that hasn’t always happened in New Orleans, so trading him away sends a pretty bad message.
I generally think the team that gets the best player wins the trade and in this case, the Pelicans would not be getting the best player, but would instead be giving him away for platter of mediocre players in the name of a better “fit.”
Kevin Love has seen better days and wasn’t a great teammate last season in Cleveland, Nance Jr. and Turner are nice role players but are they really starters on a title team? Collin Sexton would be a nice get for the bench, but the Pelicans might be able to get him without giving up Ingram in the process.
Having two young stars is what every NBA franchise wants and the Pelicans are already lucky enough to have it. I think they should build around these two and find other parts that work, as they have many ways they could make a trade without giving up Ingram.
Stars win championships in the NBA and teams that look great on paper don’t always work out in real life. If the Pelicans are going to trade Ingram, I’d prefer they do it to get a proven superstar like Damian Lillard, otherwise, Griffin should be building around him and Zion Williamson.