The New Orleans Pelicans have had a relatively quiet offseason so far and that is a good thing.
The Pelicans already have a playoff roster, will be getting Zion Williamson back and will have full seasons of CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr.
They added a high-ceiling rookie in Dyson Daniels and as of right now the roster is full.
With stability on the roster and in the coaching ranks, the Pels are poised to contend next season if everyone can stay healthy.
But that didn’t stop them from getting mentioned in trade rumors for Kevin Durant, who has reportedly demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
As enticing as adding an all-time great to the roster is, talks ended pretty quickly as soon as the name Brandon Ingram was mentioned according to Michael Scotto at HoopsHype, who said that Ingram was never on the table in any talks about Durant coming to the Pelicans.
I’m sure the Pelicans would love to get Durant if they could do it by unloading a few young players and a load of draft picks, but they won’t be trading Brandon Ingram.
Of course the Pelicans aren’t going to trade Brandon Ingram
Trading for Kevin Durant without giving up Zion or BI would be a no-brainer in my opinion, but as soon as one of the young stars gets mentioned it’s a non-starter.
For one, Ingram is a Durant in the making, an elite scorer who isn’t at KD’s level yet, but isn’t that far off. Would swapping BI for KD really make that big a difference?
This is especially true considering Ingram is nearly 10 years younger than Durant and still has plenty of room to get better. Ingram will probably never get to Durant’s tier as a scorer, but he’s got much more of his prime left to try and get there.
There’s also the fact that Ingram emerged as the unquestioned leader of the Pelicans last season, and removing him from the roster could be devastating to the team chemistry the Pels are building.
I also think the fans would riot, as they were irate when this trade talk started in the first place.
Ingram has bought-in to what the Pelicans are building, something they’d never get from Durant, who has never really shown loyalty to a team and could demand out if things weren’t going well for him in New Orleans, leaving them right back in a mess they’ve been in too many times before.
Look, you’d be crazy not to want Kevin Durant on your team, but if the cost is Brandon Ingram, there is not enough benefit and a whole lot of risk, which is why he is not going to be traded.