Report: Brandon Ingram Passed On 4-Year, $160 Million Deal From Pelicans

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Brandon Ingram passed on a four-year, $160 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Pelicans traded Ingram to the Toronto Raptors, who signed the small forward to a three-year, $120 million contract extension.

“League sources tell The Stein Line that Ingram, in fact, passed on a four-year, $160 million deal from the Pelicans that would have kept him in New Orleans, meaning there was some serious money left on the proverbial table in his quest for more,” Fischer wrote. “Maybe Ingram will have the chance to land one more sizable contract right before he turns 29, when the projected salary cap for 2027-28 rises more than $30 million above 2025-26 projections. It’s likewise true that Ingram’s new deal with the Raptors almost certainly wouldn’t have surfaced in free agency this summer with so few teams on course to hold significant cap space and, in the end, really only two teams chasing him before last Thursday’s NBA Trade deadline: Toronto and Atlanta.”

The Raptors now have a core of Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley.

“At first glance, adding Ingram now wouldn’t appear to bolster Toronto’s tanking campaign, which veteran center Jakob Poeltl put on full blast way back on Media Day,” Fischer wrote. “Coaches there have been direct with the team’s young players about not stressing game night results this season, sources say, while prioritizing development and growth ahead of next year. When The Stein Line first revealed Toronto’s interest in Ingram on Jan. 28, it took several more phone calls and conversations for me to understand the pursuit as well. Yet sources continue to stress that Toronto does not wish to stay this bad for much longer. ‘They want to compete starting next year,’ said one NBA figure with knowledge of the Raptors’ thinking.”

Ingram was the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Duke. He has career averages of 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists. 

The 27-year-old Ingram won the 2020 Most Improved Player of the Year Award in his first season with the Pelicans. Ingram also made the All-Star team that year. 

Ingram has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Pelicans and now Raptors.