NBA Rumors: 1 Biggest reason why Brandon Ingram is likely to leave Pelicans in FA

NBA Rumors: There's one big reason why Brandon Ingram is likely to leave the New Orleans Pelicans in free agency.

The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in the midst of a lost season. Through the first quarter of the season, not much has gone right for the team. They're currently 4-18 and have the worst record in the Western Conference. They've been decimated by injuries and there's no current timeline on when Zion Williamson, the heart and soul of the team, will return from a bad hamstring. It's left the team in a truly difficult spot.

Adding injury to insult, it's now being reported that Ingram "wants to be part of a winning organization" and he may be ready to leave New Orleans if they can't give him that. Even though injuries have played a big part in the team's shortcomings this season, Ingram could have the opportunity to take his future into his own hands this summer. Right now, his options include an extension with the Pelicans, a trade, or leaving in free agency. Things are beginning to trend in the direction of a fresh start for Ingram.

Will the New Orleans Pelicans trade Brandon Ingram ahead of the deadline?

One of the bigger questions heading into the trade deadline revolves around whether the Pelicans will be able to trade Ingram. In theory, it would make sense for the Pelicans to trade Ingram if he's truly ready for a change of scenery. The recent reporting seems to suggest that to be the case. However, if the Pelicans are going to trade Ingram, they're essentially punting on this season.

At least up until this week, the Pelicans weren't ready to throw in the towel on the year despite their slow start. However, perhaps that has changed in the last few days. Or perhaps it will over the next few weeks. But if the indications continue to be that Ingram is going to leave New Orleans in free agency, it would be malpractice for the Pelicans to not explore the trade option.

Finding the right deal (and value) could be difficult for the Pelicans. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why they didn't trade him this past offseason. But at a certain point, New Orleans may have to weigh getting anything for him at the deadline vs. the possibility of losing him for nothing in free agency next summer. It's an interesting state of affairs that the Pelicans find themselves in. It's quite impossible to predict how it will all shake out. But, if I did have to guess, I'd imagine that we could very well see a trade of Ingram before the deadline.