The New Orleans Pelicans have been strangely intertwined with the Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler this season. As we draw closer to the trade deadline, both the Pelicans and Butler have a lot that they each want to accomplish before February 6.
Butler has demanded a trade from the Heat. Heat President Pat Riley at first declined his request with a public statement, but after some back and forth including multiple suspensions for Jimmy as repercussions for his modes of protest, it appears that Miami is now willing to grant him his wish to be moved off of the team.
As for the Pelicans, the franchise has likely been actively monitoring Butler's situation in South Beach. It was reported earlier in the year that the same teams interested in trading for Jimmy might also consider dealing for Brandon Ingram if they're unable to land Butler. As New Orleans has been trying to move BI since last June's draft, the more interest they can generate for his services ahead of the deadline, the better. Thankfully, a couple of different teams have been name-dropped as potential suitors for Ingram recently, one from the Western Conference and one from the East. Still, New Orleans may want to continue keeping tabs on Butler, just in case it turns into a situation they can use to their advantage. It appears that the Pelicans have considered at least one way they could solve their Brandon Ingram dilemma this season, and it was an answer that's been staring them right in the face for weeks.
The New Orleans Pelicans have considered a Brandon Ingram for Jimmy Butler swap with the Miami Heat
According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the New Orleans Pelicans have recently considered trading for the Heat's Jimmy Butler.
They reported that the Pelicans had been contacted by other teams proposing to get New Orleans involved in a multi-team deal for Butler, with Brandon Ingram's contract lumped in to help financially facilitate the trade. According to The Stein Line, the Pelicans' brass decided to contract Miami directly about a more direct swap involving Ingram and Butler instead.
Acquiring BI would make sense for the Heat. They're expected to still be competitive after moving Jimmy with a team built around young stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Ingram would slot in nicely in that timeline, and his abilities as a midrange magician and point forward should be able to replicate a lot of Butler's production in Miami. The Stein Line agrees:
"It is believed that the prospect of acquiring a player of Ingram's caliber would certainly get the Heat's attention, given that Miami is openly motivated to make the playoffs this season even if it is successful with its goal to find a trade that rids them of Butler before the NBA's trade deadline next Thursday at 3 PM ET."
Butler's fit with the Pelicans is a different story though. I wrote earlier in the year about how he could potentially be a good fit as a replacement in a Brandon Ingram trade but that was when New Orleans was still in the playoff hunt. Now, New Orleans's has already lost their 2024-25 season. Butler has a $52 million player option for next year, but he's expected to decline that in pursuit of a lucrative long-term deal this summer. The Pelicans were unwilling to shell out to extend Ingram. We'll see how interested they are in acquiring and re-signing a 35-year-old notorious malcontent.