A terribly busy Wednesday in the NBA demolished another big step before the clock met on the midnight before the trading deadline on Thursday, whereby the pelicans of New Orleans reportedly exchanged Brandon Ingram in the Toronto Raptors in a deal that ends the All-Star that the All-Star ends that ends the All-Star that ends the All-Star Forward’s term of office in Louisiana after five and a half seasons-and records a number of pretty interesting decisions in the summer.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the Raptors Ingram received in exchange for guard Bruce Brown Jr., Center Kelly Olynyk, a first round pick and a second round pick. According to Blake Murphy from Sportnet, the first Rounder is the top-four protected 2026-pick from Indiana Pacers, who accompanied Brown to Toronto in last year’s Pascal Siakam deal; His colleague Michael Grange reports that the second Rounder will come in 2031.
Let us assess trade from the perspective of each team, start north of the border:
Toronto Raptors: B
Teamse curi Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster are said to have been introduced to the deadline to add “an important piece” to start the growing rebuilding of the Raptors, with a view to stopping East’s basement. (The Raptors are on 16-35, in 13th place in the conference, after Wednesday’s eruption loss for the Grizzlies.) That search landed on Ingram, a Spidery Swingman with one all-star kink under his belt and a flexible match match It is said that Ujiri “intrigued” as a potential supplement for playing all-star wing scottie barnes.
As a purely talent game, there is a lot to be found in Ingram, a gifted All-Round Scorer and improved facilitator who has an average of 23 points on 47/37/85 shooting splits, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in the past five seasons . There Are Reasons that he spent most of the past year on the trade block.
He proved a shaky fit next to a Jumbo Point with a dug output in Zion Williamson, which could find his head again next to Barnes. One manifestation of the fit problems: the half-court distance congestion that was often the result of Ingram’s preference for working in the midrange instead of setting up its 3-point volume, despite strong shooting numbers from outside.
Ingram’s defensive effort has always left something to be desired when he is on the field, given his 6-foot-8 frame, 7-foot-3 wingspan and fast feet. He also spent a lot of time out The court, who has missed 115 matches in the last four seasons – and count. (A high ankle disguise has kept Ingram on the shelf in the last two months … and since Toronto has the fifth-striking record of the NBA and therefore a chance of 42.1% with a top-four pick in the 2025 NBA version , perhaps giving more time to rest would not be the worst in the world.)
It all comes down to a very good but not a great player-and a fringe all-star instead of a consistent all-NBA candidate-which is a pretty difficult type of player to build around the new collective negotiation agreement. This led to a disagreement between Ingram, which in the last year of the five -year maximum extension that he signed in 2020, and the Pelicans, who have never paid the luxury tax in their history (and who dropped under the tax earlier on Wednesday, dropped by The Daniel Theis trade reserve to Oklahoma City), about what his next Contract should look.
That is now the problem of Toronto to solve and with Barnes’ maximum salary extension of his Rookie scale contract that is about to pedal, and with fellow starters Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl already on the books for something Less than $ 80 million next season, a potentially thorny. Ingram is said to be enthusiastic about the prospect of a new start in Toronto; However, you wonder if a re -signed Ingram and Barrett were duplicative, so that the Raptors would bring in a position where they should try to turn RJ to better balance the grid.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Ingram is currently eligible for an extension of a maximum of three extra years and $ 144 million, if Ujiri and Webster want to follow that route; If not, the Raptors now have his bird rights, so that they can go through the salary limit to keep it when he touches unlimited free agency in July. From the $ 13.4 million to Olynnyk will come next season, creates a more leeway under the luxury tax line for Toronto to keep Ingram around … but it still places the Raptors in line to pay a terribly steep invoice For a starting five that looks somewhat badly fitting, lighting on, shaky defensive and maybe not dramatic Closer to Ujiri’s goal to get the Raptors back in the mix for consistent position.
“Sport is only about winning, and nobody gives something if you don’t win,” Ujiri told reporters last summer. “You are not relevant.”
Add a talent like Ingram, pushes a Smidge needle. Whether it does so enough to justify the shooting capital in the midst of what felt like a rebuilding at an early stage, and enough to pay the 27-year-old well north of $ 40 million a year for privilege I don’t know it So sure.
New Orleans Pelicans: B
If you exchange a star, you would like to get away with salary lighting, design capital and projectable young talent. Well, two out of three are not bad.
Brown’s expiring contract will wipe $ 23 million of the Pelicans’ books, the end of the season. Olynyk’s minutes and production were taken in his 13th season, but the 33-year-old remains an intoxicating passer and reliable shooter (a career-high 47.4% of 3-point country this season, albeit just 1.7 attempts per night ) who could proof for the time being a useful floor spacer for Williamson, and whose contract of $ 13.4 million could serve for next season as a matching salary in another transaction or another source of cost savings when it ends in 2026.
De Licht protected Indiana First and Far-Future Second Aid fills in the trekkkas after New Orleans has broadcast two scoops last summer for Dejounde Murray, who is out for the season after tearing his judge Achilles-tendon. And Ingram move before he could return from the ankle disguise can help the destroyed pelicans now 12-39, dead in the west, with the second worst record in the NBA present that is accidentally competitive enough to make more games Win to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more competitions Win to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more games to win more competitions Winning the stretch would be advisable from a ping-pong-ball perspective.
Perhaps the biggest advantage for the Pelicans, however, is to clean up the path for Trey Murphy III to officially strengthen the raised role in the pelicans’s hierarchy that it has risen to the midst of the many injuries of New Orleans.
The fourth-year attacker is in the middle of a breakout season, an average of 22.6 points, 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per match, shoot 58% on 2-PINETERS, 38.2% on more than eight 3-point attempts per match and 89% of the error line. Murphy is largely seen as a floor spacer, and is able to produce a BonaFide All-Court Scorer not only as a number 1 option, but does this on a modernized shot diet that is neatly at work with Williamson than Ingram’s did it during Their loaded and limited cooperation.
With his four-year extension of $ 112 million to pedal next season, the Pelicans had to priorize Murphy as a fixed value in the starting line-up and an attacking pecking order. By continuing to Ingram makes that easier and puts New Orleans in position to build around a core of Murphy, Williamson, Murray, Defensive Aas Kruid Jones, Rookie Center Yves Missi and a high lottery Pick in this loaded 2025 design. That is a fairly solid starting point for a return to the late season if the PELs can finally get the benefit of some good injury happiness. It must happen An Of these years … right?