NBA Trade Rumors: According to a recent report, the New Orleans Pelicans are not willing to trade Brandon Ingram in any deal for Kevin Durant.
Heading into this upcoming NBA season, an argument could be made that expectations haven’t been any higher than they will be during the 2022-23 season for the New Orleans Pelicans. And they could be pumped even higher if they were to get in on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes.
According to a recent report, they would be interested. After all, who wouldn’t be interested in one of the best players in league history? However, there’s just one problem with that idea. And it’s that the Pelicans probably won’t be willing to put together an offer that would appease the Brooklyn Nets.
Would it make sense for the New Orleans Pelicans to trade Brandon Ingram?
It was recently reported that the Pelicans would unlikely be a serious player in the Durant sweepstakes due to the fact that they’re currently unwilling to include Brandon Ingram in any deal.
"[via NOLA.com]If Durant gets moved, the New Orleans Pelicans could be players in the sweepstakes, but that would likely require them to surrender Brandon Ingram. League sources say the Pelicans are unwilling to do so."
To a certain extent, it’s easy to see where the Pelicans are coming from. Ingram is only 24 years old and coming off a season in which he averaged 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent shooting from 3-point range.
An argument could be made that Ingram hasn’t even hit his prime as a player and is still getting better. And Ingram may fit the Pelicans’ timeline as a whole better than a player like Durant, even though he’s currently one of the three best players in the league.
Durant is going to be 34 years old by the time the season begins and maybe has 2-3 years of prime years left if that. If the Pelicans were to trade Ingram for Durant, there’s no guarantee that a duo of Durant and Zion would be enough – even less so considering both their injury histories.
And, ultimately, that could be what ends up halting the idea of such a blockbuster deal between the two teams.
Ingram is a really good player that probably was given up on too easily during his time in Los Angeles. Now, with the Pelicans, Ingram is beginning to make his own way in the league. There’s no reason for New Orleans to throw in the towel now.