One thing is certain about fans of the New Orleans Pelicans: They love Brandon Ingram.
Ingram’s name has popped up in recent trade rumors for Kevin Durant, which is all just speculation at this point, which makes sense being that the Pels are one of the few teams in the league with the necessary assets to trade for the superstar.
Media speculation is just that, but it wouldn’t hurt New Orleans to kick the tires on a potential trade, and might even be negligence not to do so, as we are talking about an all-time great player.
But when talk turns to trading either Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram to get him, things start to change, as Pels’ fans are rightfully happy with the homegrown roster they have and see big potential for a group that actually wants to be in New Orleans.
Brandon Ingram stepped up when Zion went down last season, became the unquestioned leader of the team and has had nothing but positive things to say about the organization that “believes” in him.
https://twitter.com/ishayyeeeeeee/status/1543377795266400257
That is why fans were understandably upset when they started hearing Ingram’s name in trade rumors.
New Orleans Pelicans: Fans not happy about Brandon Ingram trade speculation
The reactions from fans ranged from calm and logical to threatening to boycott the team if they were to trade Brandon Ingram for Kevin Durant.
Here is a sampling of some of my favorite responses on Twitter:
I’d rather do a cannonball into a volcano than trade Brandon Ingram for Jae Crowder https://t.co/OxYwC1QqEv
— Pro Pels Talk (@ProPelsTalk) July 3, 2022
I think I am with Pro Pels Talk on this one. This trade is nonsense.
Brandon Ingram is the franchise.
— Father Lito (@Lito_TheGawd) July 3, 2022
A strong argument can be made that this is true until we see Zion Williamson play for a full season.
There’s situation where some things are more important than “who’s the better player”
— Dr. Turd Ferguson (@TurdFNOLA5) July 3, 2022
Ingram goes nowhere. He’s a Pelican as long as he chooses to be one. much like Jrue. https://t.co/1ziQHJ7R0K
Brandon Ingram getting the Jrue Holiday level of love is not something I thought I would see this quickly, but here we are.
https://twitter.com/eflynt/status/1543805121682984960
This seems to be the crux of most of the arguments I see, which is that Ingram is considerably younger than Durant, so you’d be trading the rest of his budding superstar career for the tail-end of KD’s.
https://twitter.com/DonnyBucketsPH/status/1543471643674099712
Another common theme is that fans like the players the New Orleans Pelicans currently have on the roster and want to see them play together before making any type of disruptive moves.
After the way this team gelled after the CJ McCollum trade, I think this is a fair assessment.
https://twitter.com/rion_davis/status/1543293821630484483
I can’t say that I would “revolt” against the Pelicans for trading for Kevin Durant, but I do think this is a common sentiment for fans who want players who actually want to be in New Orleans and aren’t going to demand a trade.
Given the history of this team, it is understandable, and while I don’t think fans are going to boycott a team that would be the favorite to win a title with Kevin Durant, I do think there would be some serious resentment over any trade involving Brandon Ingram.
Most of this is just media noise, and it probably won’t die down until Durant is actually moved. Until then, we can expect more rumors involving Ingram, but we know the fans have his back.