We're inching closer and closer to the NBA trade deadline. The New Orleans Pelicans and their fans in particular have a lot riding on this season's trade festivities. The team came into the year with aspirations for a deep playoff run but had their campaign quickly derailed due to a variety of different injuries that took out practically their entire core roster.
Now, the Pelicans have seemingly chosen to reset their team around their young prospects, namely Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, and Yves Missi. Zion Williamson could still be their franchise cornerstone, but New Orleans is expected to at least entertain offers for the former Duke Blue Devil. Aside from those five and new point guard Dejounte Murray, everyone else is on the trading block, with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum likely headlining as premier assets.
There's been a lack of activity heading up to the trade deadline, which isn't exactly unprecedented. It is a bit concerning how little talk there's been surrounding the Pelicans' main trade candidates though, especially BI. We've heard all year why dealing him might prove to be more difficult than initially expected. At first, it appeared inevitable that he'd be moved this season, as he's in the last year of his deal and could become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The lack of interest in Brandon Ingram around the league could lead the Pelicans to take an unexpected and unpopular route regarding the ninth-year forward.
The New Orleans Pelicans might have to re-sign Brandon Ingram to a short-term deal
I said it earlier this year. It felt imminent that the Pelicans would trade Brandon Ingram this season to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing in the offseason, as he'd become an unrestricted free agent this summer unless New Orleans signed him to an extension. The team and Ingram's camp were reportedly far apart on negotiations before coming into the season, as BI was apparently seeking a four-year, $200 million deal that the Pelicans were unwilling to meet.
That wasn't expected to change anytime soon, and, with Ingram missing a huge chunk of the season with injury, it only looked more unlikely that he'd be able to land that contract. That much remains the same. There's almost no world in which the Pelicans end up inking Ingram to the massive $200 million deal that he was originally seeking.
Unfortunately, the risk that the Pelicans could lose him in free agency isn't nearly as daunting as it first seemed. For one, there won't be much money available around the league this summer. The only team set to have enough money to sign him to that four-year, $200 million deal outright this offseason is the Brooklyn Nets. Considering that the Nets are closer to a complete rebuild than they are to title contention and their notorious affinity for chasing the NBA's most high-profile stars, they're probably not super intrigued with the idea of tying up all of their cap space for a player of Brandon Ingram's caliber.
Because of the lack of available funds around the league and Ingram's weaknesses as a ball-dominant sub-All-Star, the Pelicans will likely be his best chance at landing a good contract this offseason. Aside from Brooklyn and New Orleans, the only other teams projected to have more than $30 million in cap space for next season are the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets.
The Wizards have just started their rebuild and shouldn't have much interest in a 27-year-old just entering his prime who will only take shots and opportunities away from their young players and make it harder for them to continue to chase top draft picks. The Charlotte Hornets are an interesting case, as Ingram grew up about four hours away from Charlotte in Kinston, North Carolina. The Hornets are in the late stages of their rebuild with two rising stars already on board in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and a host of intriguing young prospects around them like Mark Williams, Tidjane Salaun, and Josh Green.
Charlotte isn't exactly a premier free-agent destination, so throwing the bag at a borderline All-Star like Ingram wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Still, adding a methodical, ball-dominant midrange assassin like Ingram next to a high-octane analytics darling like LaMelo could prove to be subtraction by addition.
Even if the Hornets exhaust their resources to chase Ingram this summer though, the best deal they could offer him would still be a far cry from his maximum available contract that would clock in around $50 million per year. Ingram's best chance at landing a max contract this offseason would be through a sign-and-trade. Otherwise, his best recourse might be to re-sign with New Orleans on a short-term deal where he could play his way into a max offer or find a trade to a team that might be willing to offer him a max extension later on.
If the Pelicans can't find a trade package they like for Ingram before the deadline — and it's looking increasingly likely that they won't — it'd be wise for them to re-sign him to a short-term deal to find a deal next season or even further down the road, when the league landscape and Ingram's situation might lead to better offers. It might feel like a step backwards but sometimes the best move is to stay put.