Pelicans Star Brandon Ingram Sparks Trade Speculation With Cryptic Social Media Post

One of the bigger names involved in trade rumors this offseason in the NBA has been New Orleans Pelicans star forward Brandon Ingram. There have been rumors that New Orleans has no interest in giving Ingram a max contract extension when his deal ends, sparking the thought of a trade going down.

Ingram has been a key piece for the Pelicans since he was traded there before the 2019-20 season. But injuries have taken their toll on him over the years and it seems that New Orleans doesn’t want to fully commit to him.

So far, nothing has materialized but with the season approaching, the thought to trade Ingram has intensified. Things had calmed down a little but Ingram sparked the rumors back up with a cryptic social media post.

“You cannot stay in environments where people don’t know the true value of you,” the video starts. “If you stay in environments where people don’t recognize the value of you, you will shrink your gift to the size of what they can stand.”

At the end of June, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin reiterated that Ingram wanted to be in New Orleans and that the team was excited about him. But he also mentioned that teams have a financial reality as well.

“Brandon wants to stay here,” Griffin said, per NOLA.com’s Christian Clark. “He believes in what we are building. That’s meaningful to him. That’s meaningful to his agent. At the same time, there is a financial reality that we all deal with. I think we’re excited about Brandon. We know he’s excited about us. Usually, those things yield good results one way or the other.”

Having Ingram on the roster gives the Pelicans one of the deeper teams in the NBA. But with the new CBA now in effect, teams are being much more careful about who they give massive contracts out to.

Last season, Ingram appeared in 64 games for New Orleans, averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. His ability to score the ball has been his best trait since entering the league but the Pelicans believe they may be able to get similar production at a lower price.

Ingram is entering the final year of his contract, scheduled to make $36 million. If he gets to free agency, New Orleans likely won’t be able to retain him based on how salaries have escalated of late in the NBA.

The hope for New Orleans is to come to terms on an extension that works for both sides before next summer. But if they can’t a trade may need to happen to avoid the Pelicans losing Ingram for nothing.

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