Trade Proposal Sends Brandon Ingram, Dean Wade To Spurs

One NBA analyst proposed that the San Antonio Spurs acquire Brandon Ingram and Dean Wade. 

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed the following mock trade:

Spurs Receive: Brandon Ingram and Dean Wade

Pelicans Receive: Jarrett Allen (cannot be traded till January 27, 2025), Caris LeVert, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from San Antonio)

Cavaliers Receive: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from New Orleans)

“The thinking here is pretty simple. If the Spurs play logical lineups this season (as opposed to the ‘Jeremy Sochan is a point guard’ experiment that tanked the early portion of 2023-24), they could compete for a playoff spot,” Bailey wrote in his NBA trade proposal. “San Antonio is coming off a campaign in which it was plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions when Victor Wembanyama, Tre Jones (an actual point guard) and Devin Vassell (a decent wing) were all on the floor. And now it has Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes on the roster, who’ll make it harder to avoid more traditional alignments.

“If that alone puts the Spurs in the middle of the pack, they might as well explore moves that could push them up another tier. Ingram’s mid-range game has added to the congestion in an offense that includes Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum (though the latter has done a good job of upping his three-point volume in recent years). In San Antonio, playing alongside a generational talent who’ll force bigs outside the three-point line with his own range, Ingram’s game would be more dangerous.”

Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Pelicans last season while shooting 49.2% from the field, 35.5% from beyond the arc and 80.1% from the free-throw line. The forward will make $36 million next season in the final year of his contract. 

“Getting him without giving up Vassell would allow the Spurs to play a mostly positionless trio at the 2, 3 and 4 with Vassell, Ingram, and Barnes,” Bailey wrote in his NBA trade proposal. “Bookending that with CP3 and Wemby would give San Antonio one of the league’s more interesting starting fives. A future draft pick and soon-to-be-25-year-old Keldon Johnson is a decent amount to give up. And having to deal with whatever Ingram’s next contract is could be tricky, but this would undoubtedly make the Spurs better immediately.”

Wade averaged 5.4 points last season for the Cavaliers while shooting 41.4% from the field, 39.1% from beyond the arc and 76.9% from the free-throw line. He’ll make $6.2 million next season.