The New Orleans Pelicans were a team surrounded with a lot of question marks heading into 2024 NBA Media Day. There was uncertainty around what the starting lineup would look like, how they would address their center rotation, and the future of certain players on the team.
A few days before, the team signed Jose Alvarado to a two-year contract extension worth a total of $9 million. New Orleans was able to lock down one of their most important reserves to an extremely team-friendly deal, alleviating a major potential cause for concern. With Alvarado extended, fans and followers had to wonder if Trey Murphy III would receive his own new deal before the October 21 deadline for rookie-scale extensions.
If not, TMIII will be heading for unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2024-25 season. He's not the only Pelican that might be a free agent next summer, though. Currently, Brandon Ingram is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025 unless he signs an extension before June 30. This offseason raised a lot of questions about Ingram's future with the Pelicans, and Media Day revealed a bit about what to expect.
Brandon Ingram's future in New Orleans is still up in the air
It's been reported that Brandon Ingram is seeking a four-year, $200 million contract extension. The Pelicans have been unwilling to give him that deal, which has led to Ingram's name being run through the trade machine countless times this offseason. Fans hoping to get good news about the contract talks with Ingram at Media Day had to be disappointed.
Vice President David Griffin confirmed that the team and Ingram's camp were unable to come to an agreement this summer, though he did state that Ingram isn't deadset on receiving a max extension from New Orleans. Ingram added during his availability that he doesn't expect for a deal to get done before season tip-off. There's still plenty of time for the two sides to find common ground, as BI is eligible to sign an extension up until the start of the following league year: June 30. Of course, New Orleans has another deadline to work against, though: the trade deadline.
If the Pelicans don't intend to keep Ingram around for the long haul, the wise move would be to trade him this year to prevent losing him for nothing in free agency. With this much uncertainty surrounding one of the core pieces of the team, it's fair to worry about how well Ingram and the rest of New Orleans will be able to focus and gel.
Griffin isn't too worried about the contract talks becoming a distraction on the court, though. He disclosed that Ingram has worked closely with Pelicans staffers throughout the summer and that there's a strong sense of confidence and trust between BI and the team that will keep things from getting sour on and off the court.
Griffin purposefully not giving a definitive answer about Ingram's future with the Pelicans likely means that there's a strong chance that he could be moved this season. It's encouraging to see both sides approach a tenuous situation with professionalism. Ingram can be expected to help the Pelicans win as best he can while he remains in the Big Easy.