Pelicans Thought No-Show Brandon Ingram Would Attend Voluntary Camp

September 5, 2024

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram was expected to attend a voluntary workout in Los Angeles, but never showed, exercising his right to the “voluntary” part.

But per Will Guillory of The Athletic, Ingram’s absence seemed to catch the others off guard. Everyone else on the team was in LA, minus Ingram and new center Daniel Theis. Difference is, Theis had made it known beforehand he wouldn’t attend. Ingram was a surprise.

Of course, of those two, Ingram is the only one seeking a contract extension and has been the constant subject of offseason trade rumors. Neither the trade nor extension appears to be on the way.

“But with Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and CJ McCollum already on lucrative contracts for at least the next two seasons and 24-year-old wing Trey Murphy now eligible to sign a large extension of his own, the Pelicans have little interest in also supplying Ingram a four-year maximum extension worth a projected $207.8 million,” Guillory wrote. “The decision becomes easier for a small-market team like New Orleans, which always has to be cautious when giving out those big-money deals.”

Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists last season, shooting 49.2% from the field, 35.5% on 3-pointers and 80.1% from the free-throw line.

The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Pelicans in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Ingram averaged 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 34.5% overall and 25.0% from 3 in the series.

A Duke product, Ingram has career averages of 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks with the Los Angeles Lakers and Pelicans. He won the 2019-20 Most Improved Player of the Year Award.

Ingram is set to make $36 million next season.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Ingram’s camp sought teams to pay the wing $210 million.

“Ingram, with one All-Star appearance on his resume like Lauri Markkanen, has only one season left on his current contract and is said to be seeking a four-year contract extension worth nearly $210 million,” Stein wrote. “The Pelicans have made it clear that they won’t go to those lengths to re-sign him and, while various teams have explored Ingram trades since the offseason began in earnest, no other team willing to sign the 26-year-old at those numbers has yet emerged … with league sources saying that Ingram’s camp has also joined the efforts to find one.”

(Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.)