While most of the Philadelphia 76ers trade and free agency rumors have featured Paul George, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko has revealed that league sources say the New Orleans Pelicans have offered up Brandon Ingram in trade talks.
Iko said, “Rumors have swirled about the Pelicans dangling Ingram in trade talks (with the Houston Rockets) and in one iteration, a hypothetical Ingram-for-Alperen Şengün swap was mentioned, but the Rockets have no interest, team sources said. League sources said New Orleans also contacted the Philadelphia 76ers concerning a possible Ingram trade.”
What Would Ingram Bring to the 76ers?
If it feels like Ingram has been in the league for a long time, that’s because he has been. As the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ingram entered the league at just 19 years old and is entering his ninth season in the NBA.
Ingram has proven himself to be a consistent threat to score while also being a willing passer. Over his last five seasons, he’s averaged 23.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists with a shooting line of .472/.372/.847. The knock on Ingram is that he has a history of injury and isn’t a difference-maker on the defensive end.
Pairing two players who have never started more than 68 games in any season (Embiid 68, Ingram 64) feels risky. With that said, at just 26 years old, the 6-foot-8 forward could be the best non-George solution in the 76ers attempts to pair Joel Embiid with a complementary second option.
Defensively, the 76ers are going to struggle with continuity, as their roster turnover is going to be significant. Having a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Embiid is a good start, and while Ingram won’t make any All-Defensive teams, he is trending in the right direction. It’s an admittedly noisy metric, but according to NBA.com/stats, Ingram only allowed opponents 0.8% better shooting than their regular season averages in 2023-24.
The only other real issue is that Ingram isn’t experienced in the playoffs and his most recent disappearance sounded alarms. After a strong 2022 playoff series against the Phoenix Suns where he averaged 27 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists, Ingram managed just 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 2024, in a sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
What Could the 76ers Offer?
Ingram is entering the last year of his 5-year, $158 million deal he signed with the Pelicans back in November 2020 and is slated to make $36 million for the 2024-25 season, which the 76ers will need to match in outgoing salaries. His pending free agency will play a role in any trade scenario, so expect an extension to be agreed upon within the deal.
The 76ers currently only have four players under contract and the only one with a significant salary ($51.4 million in 2024-25) is Joel Embiid. The 76ers would need to resign some of their free agents in order to pull together the salary to move.
Draft compensation would also be likely, with the 76ers owning their own first-round draft pick in 2024, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030. They also control the Los Angeles Clippers 2028 first-rounder, which could be very valuable.
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