Trade Proposal Sends Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram To Rockets

One NBA analyst proposed that the Houston Rockets acquire Brandon Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason. 

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Rockets and Pelicans:

The Trade: The Houston Rockets trade Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore and the No. 3 pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Brandon Ingram

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Pelicans are expected to explore the trade market for Ingram this offseason aggressively.

Ingram has one year left on his contract. He’ll make $36 million next season.

A one-time All-Star, Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Pelicans this season while shooting 49.2% from the field, 35.5% from beyond the arc and 80.1% from the free-throw line. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Pelicans in the first round of this year’s playoffs, while the Rockets missed the postseason again.

Houston has the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The franchise could trade the pick for a “star.”

“So, why not bringing in Ingram? He might not be a tier-one star—and also doesn’t carry a tier-one-star price tag—but he has been a nightly supplier of 23.1 points, 5.2 assists and 1.8 three-pointers for five years running,” Buckley wrote. “Not to mention a 47.2/37.2/84.7 shooter over this stretch. For context, those numbers would have made him Houston’s highest scorer and second-best distributor while tying him for third in volume perimeter shooting.

“Rockets fans might quibble over including two prospects (Eason and Whitmore) plus the No. 3 pick knowing Ingram needs a new deal by next summer, but this assumes Houston would get a commitment or at least have a really strong hunch about securing one before making the offer.”

Ingram has career averages of 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists with the Los Angeles Lakers and Pelicans. He won the 2019-20 Most Improved Player of the Year Award.