According to ESPN, Brandon Ingram will be joining Klutch Sports after his recent split with Excel. The move is the latest curveball in Ingram’s tumultuous path to impending 2025 free agency.
Ingram arrived in New Orleans as the centerpiece of the Anthony Davis trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. Ironically, Davis hired Klutch Sports to represent him before leaving New Orleans. Ingram remains with the Pelicans for now, but has been a central figure in trade talks since the offseason. Although the motivation for these negotiations was primarily financial, similar concerns likely led to the agreement being abandoned.
The Pelicans entered the 2024 offseason with Zion Williams, CJ McCollum and Herb Jones already signed to long-term deals. They quickly traded for Dejounte Murray and later signed Trey Murphy to a huge contract extension, giving them five relatively expensive players on the books. Jones and Murphy share positions with Ingram, and as defensive and shooting specialists, respectively, would fit neatly next to Williamson on a theoretically sound version of this roster. The Pelicans have historically been one of the frugal teams in the NBA, currently sitting about $31 million below the luxury tax line before factoring in the new Ingram contract. According to Spotrac, the Pelicans are one of two teams, along with the Hornets, that have never paid the luxury tax.
“So from a relationship standpoint, we were really clear that we wanted Brandon to be with us, and Brandon also wanted him to be with us. At the same time, there’s an economic reality to this. I think we can do it in terms of uniting this group, but not as much as he and his agency would like. “Maybe,” Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said. said In June.
In other words, Ingram likely wants more than the $31 million or so the Pelicans have in luxury tax. Perhaps the Pelicans will cross the tax line to keep him, but the two teams haven’t found common ground, at least for now.
That’s why the Pelicans considered trading Ingram over the summer. They were unable to find a pull, as the rest of the league seemed hesitant to pay Ingram as well. The entire NBA is entering a new period of fiscal responsibility. The revamped apron in the 2023 CBA punishes teams more than ever for overpaying players, and that appears to be causing some of the disconnect here.
Ingram is a former All-Star. He’s only 27 years old and plays the fewest positions in the league. But he’s also an inconsistent defender and playmaker, and his shot selection often leaves a lot to be desired. His best seasons tend to come when he shoots the most 3-pointers, but after starting his two seasons in New Orleans with over six attempts per game, he averaged 3.9 in his next three seasons. was recorded. This season, he’s hitting a career-high 6.7 attempts per game, but that’s about the league average rate and he’s getting to the basket fewer times this season than in previous years.
In the past, the demand for talent far exceeded the supply. A former All-Star like Ingram, who scores 20 or more points per game, could earn a max contract. Just because how else are bad teams going to spend their money? That’s not the NBA today, and Ingram is the first big-name player to really feel that crisis. His agent switch is part of the search for a solution.
What exactly that solution is is a bit more of a mystery. Sure Klutch could have put pressure on the Pelicans to make a trade, but New Orleans probably would have accepted it if a good player had been on the table and a team ready to pay him. Wouldn’t the team have benefited if there had been? Are there any good trade offers around now? Things could change between now, the trade deadline, and the offseason, but the league’s perception of Ingram’s value does not appear to have changed at this point. Perhaps some teams would want to give Ingram the most rights as a free agent without giving up trade assets to acquire him, but at this point, only the Wizards and Nets are looking to get the most out of this offseason. They are in the middle of this offseason, as they plan to free up cap space. Rebuild.
So, for now, Ingram’s situation is smoldering. Perhaps things will change in some meaningful way between now and the offseason, and somewhere there will be an acceptable salary slot for Ingram. Until that happens or the request is changed to reflect a more modest market, he and the Pelicans remain at an impasse.
