Does this trade make sense for the New Orleans Pelicans?
The New Orleans Pelicans have been extremely underwhelming this season and while he has missed half of his team’s games, this is definitely not a welcoming sight for Brandon Ingram.
Between the Pelicans losing and all the drama surrounding Zion Williamson, now may be the best time for him to “jump ship”, especially after he got his max extension last year.
At some point, Ingram is going to ask himself if New Orleans has a chance of being a real threat in the Western Conference and the simple answer is no. This team is at least 3-4 years away from being a real contending threat in the NBA, so Brandon Ingram may very well want to go somewhere in which he would have a shot to win right now.
Memphis is certainly an attractive landing spot given the young talents they have on their roster and pairing up with Ja Morant could create the most athletic and deadly scoring duo in the entire league. This trade could be something that Ingram would be interested in, but the Pelicans definitely would not be wanting to make this trade.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Teams Who Should Be Eyeing Trade For Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram
Not only do they want to keep Brandon Ingram long-term, but they would not be happy with De’Anthony Melton, Brandon Clarke, Kyle Anderson, and some first-round picks/swaps.
Anderson is on an expiring contract and while Melton and Clarke are two young talents, their upside is limited slightly due to the fact that New Orleans has Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas and Nickeil Alexander-Walker as three core pieces.
They could possibly be interested in Dillon Brooks or Jaren Jackson Jr. if they were to be included in a trade for Ingram, but it is very unlikely that the Memphis Grizzlies would be interested in trading either of these two guys.
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Getting more first-round picks to add to their stockpile of draft assets is definitely something the Pelicans would be interested in, but at the same time, how many times are they going to trade away their star to try and build through the draft?
It seems like every 5-6 years, the New Orleans Pelicans are trading away a younger talent they built into an All-Star for draft picks and this cycle has yet to end, as Anthony Davis was traded away in 2019. Building with what they have and finding a way to win with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson needs to be a priority right now, which is why the Pelicans need to “buy” instead of “sell” for once.
