Trade Proposal Sends Brandon Ingram To Hawks, Trae Young To Pelicans

One NBA analyst proposed that the Atlanta Hawks trade Trae Young to the New Orleans Pelicans for Brandon Ingram this offseason. 

Young and Ingram could be traded this offseason, sources told Hoops Wire. 

“Ingram is a 26-year-old with an All-Star nod and a Most Improved Player award on his resume,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote. “He’s on a five-year run of averaging at least 20 points and four assists per game, a feat matched by only a dozen other players. He also hasn’t cleared 70 games since his rookie season, has lost a not-insignificant amount of scoring and three-point volume and needs a new contract between now and next summer.

“The Pelicans, who could use a new playmaker, are reportedly planning to shop Ingram around. A challenge trade between these teams could be wildly entertaining if either unlocked something in one of these players that the other never could.”

One of the best scorers and passers in the NBA, Young averaged 25.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 10.8 assists this season while shooting 43.0% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 85.5% from the free-throw line. He had 37 double-doubles in 54 games. 

Ingram, who began his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season while shooting 49.2% from the field, 35.5% from deep and 80.1% from the free-throw line. He is eligible to sign an extension this offseason. 

The Hawks missed the playoffs this year, while the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Pelicans in the first round. 

Young signed a five-year, $215 million extension with the Hawks in August 2021. He’ll make $43 million next season and $45 million in 2025-26.

Meanwhile, Ingram will make $36 million next season in the final year of his contract. 

Young has career averages of 25.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists, while Ingram has career averages of 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists. 

“Young’s open-market value feels impossible to pin down,” Buckley wrote. “He’s a three-time All-Star with some of the gaudiest stat lines around, but he’s also a glaring defensive liability and one of the more ball-dominant players in this league. Rather than attempting to calculate his trade value in terms of picks, prospects and financial relief, Atlanta could always simplify the process by taking back a similarly polarizing player.”