If all else fails, trading Ingram likely won’t be difficult
Let’s just assume that the Pelicans match any offer that Brandon Ingram is offered this summer or they fork over the money that he’s seeking. In the event that the Ingram and Zion pairing simply isn’t working next year or in a couple of years, it likely wouldn’t be difficult for the team to move on from Ingram.
There’s absolutely no chance that the Pelicans would want to move Zion, so Ingram would be the odd man out. At 23 or even 24 years old, there’s no question that there will be some team out there that would be willing to take a chance on a player like Ingram.
He might not even be at the peak of his career at that point and could potentially thrive in another place if fit next to Zion really becomes a problem.
Brandon Ingram has proven this season that he’s on the cusp of potential stardom. Assuming that he takes the next progressional steps that many expect him to take in the next year or two, there’s no question the Pelicans should be all-in on bringing him back during the offseason.