Pelicans plan to ‘aggressively’ explore trade for Brandon Ingram

Brandon Ingram could be on the move this offseason.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Sunday that there’s a “growing belief leaguewide” that the Pelicans will be “aggressively” exploring the trade market for Ingram before the start of the 2024-25 season.

The suggestion comes after New Orleans was eliminated from the playoffs in four games by the Thunder and Ingram struggled during that series.

While he averaged 14.3 points per game during the postseason, Ingram is still generating interest with several teams linked to the Pelicans forward.

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Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta and Orlando are among those teams, according to Stein.

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Executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is expected to make some major changes following the Pelicans’ disappointing playoff demise and “league sources say that Ingram’s exit is increasingly viewed by various league observers as an inevitability rather than possibility,” according to the report.

Ingram is going into the final year of his contract worth $36 million for next season and is eligible for a four-year contract extension that could go as high as $208 million, but New Orleans seems more inclined to deal the forward that re-sign him.

And there appears to be “fit concerns” regarding the trio of Ingram, CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson.

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The trio’s offensive numbers didn’t paint a pretty picture, with Ingram, McCollum and Williamson scoring at a rate that was nearly identical to the 24th-ranked offense i n the NBA.

The Pelicans are interested in finding better-fitting players to put around Ingram, McCollum and Williamson, though, it wouldn’t guarantee that all three would be back, The Times-Picayune also reported.

The Pelicans had one of their best records this past season since the 2008-09 campaign.

New Orleans finished 49-33 and qualified for the postseason after making it out of the play-in tournament with a win over the Kings.

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