NBA Rumors: A trade of Brandon Ingram may be the last thing on the New Orleans Pelicans' minds, but this might be the perfect time for it.
At least on paper, the argument could be made that the New Orleans Pelicans were heading into a season with plenty of upside. Equipped with one of the most talented rotations in the Western Conference, if all the stars did align, the argument could be made for the Pelicans to emerge as a dark horse contender in the conference.
Spoiler alert: The stars have not aligned for the Pelicans to start the season.
To say the least, it's been a pretty less-than-ideal start to the season for the Pelicans. Through the first week and a half of the season, the Pelicans are 2-3 and are dealing with a plethora of key injuries. Already without Dejounte Murray (hand) and Trey Murphy III (hamstring), the Pelicans have been dealt with two more big injuries. Herb Jones (shoulder) and CJ McCollum (hip) are expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks with injuries as well. Altogether, the Pelicans are now officially without four of their top six in the rotation.
On top of the injuries that the Pelicans are fighting through, there are already some internal stats that suggest changes may be needed in the starting unit. The team's two best players may not be great fits with one another, and the injuries certainly haven't helped either. All in all, there's an argument that could be made that the basketball gods are pushing the Pelicans to trade Brandon Ingram.
The New Orleans Pelicans should trade Brandon Ingram now
If the Pelicans and Ingram still can't find a middle ground on a contract extension, it would make sense for a trade to take place at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline. But with the injuries that the Pelicans are dealing with, the argument could be made that a trade window could be opening for the team. To be quite honest, there are two ways the Pelicans could view these early-season woes.
On one hand, they could try and come together to hold the fort down and reevaluate themselves in late December. Keeping Ingram to help keep the team afloat would be a big part of that. On the other hand, the Pelicans could view this difficult start to the season as the opportunity they've been waiting for to hit the reset button. Trading Ingram, the leading scorer on the team, would qualify as hitting the reset button for the Pelicans.
And if the team knows there's more than a 50 percent chance that Ingram is going to leave in free agency or that they're eventually going to move him ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, what's the point of holding out any longer? If all of this is true, why shouldn't the Pelicans rip off the band-aid now? Why wait any longer? The ship is already damaged. They may as well not delay the inevitable any longer.