Sports
NBA Trade Rumors: Pelicans' Brandon Ingram Discussed in Talks with 76ers, Rockets – Bleacher Report
Brandon Ingram is reportedly available for teams looking to make a trade this offseason.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported Thursday the New Orleans Pelicans are “dangling” the forward in trade discussions, although the Houston Rockets rejected moving Alperen Şengün for the Duke product.
New Orleans also reached out to the Philadelphia 76ers in such discussions.
That Houston wasn’t interested in trading Şengün isn’t particularly surprising, as the 21-year-old looks like one of the more promising young big men in the league. He just averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field this past season.
He only figures to improve with more experience, and the Rockets reportedly didn’t think Ingram was worth losing out on that future production.
Ingram has just one more season remaining on his contract before he could leave in free agency.
The current iteration of the team has also largely been a story of what-if with injury concerns and early playoff exits, so a major move could be in order. Trading Ingram this offseason would allow the front office to avoid a situation where he leaves next offseason for nothing significant in return all while reshaping the roster around Zion Williamson.
Philadelphia being connected also isn’t surprising, as it’s not exactly a secret the team is looking for a third star alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
It has been connected to the likes of Paul George, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler and Ingram already this offseason as it looks to build a team capable of taking advantage of the urgency of the situation with Embiid set to turn 31 years old next season on a franchise that hasn’t been past the second round of the playoffs since 2001.
Ingram may not have the resume of a George, James or Butler, but he would be far from a consolation prize.
The 2019-20 All-Star averaged 20.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from deep last season. He is still just 26 years old and can impact the game in a number of ways.
His skill set could play alongside Embiid and Maxey nicely, and the Pelicans are reportedly ready to make that happen if the 76ers are willing to pay the right price.
