NBA Rumors: Pelicans, Brandon Ingram, Timberwolves, Thunder

Pelicans

The name of Brandon Ingram has been spinning on the rumor mill all offseason, and there is likely a reason for that. Everyone is reporting the Pelicans are making him available.

“With All-Star forward Brandon Ingram entering the final season of his contract, the time is right for the Pelicans to deal him for a player who better fits alongside Zion Williamson and the rest of their young core,” wrote Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

Ingram has repeatedly been linked to the Cavaliers, with point guard Darius Garland often cited as a potential New Orleans target.

Ideally, that player would be Cleveland’s Garland, who would offer more long-range shooting and playmaking than Ingram and free a spot in the starting five for Trey Murphy III,” Pelton wrote. “New Orleans would be wise to extend Murphy, who otherwise will become a restricted free agent next summer.”

• Meanwhile, despite some rumors, the Rockets aren’t interested in trading for Ingram, as we relayed here. Not if it means Houston big man Alperen Sengun, anyway.
• Oh, by the way, one source told Hoops Wire that the Cavs don’t want to trade Garland or center Jarrett Allen for Ingram, either. We have that full story here.

Timberwolves

The first thing the Timberwolves need to do this offseason is to figure out who actually owns the team. Will it be Marc Lore and ex-MLB star Alex Rodriguez? Or is Glen Taylor really going to continue on — or maybe try to sell it to someone else?

It really does seem to be a bit of a conundrum, though it isn’t likely to impact what takes place on the court too too much.

Either way, there will be some roster decisions to make for head of basketball operations Tim Connelly following the Wolves’ run to the Western Conference Finals.

“Whoever owns the team must be prepared to foot a massive luxury tax bill with extensions for Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns kicking in,” wrote Kevin Pelton of ESPN. “Although Minnesota should explore a Towns trade with an eye toward future payroll relief with reserves Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid a year away from unrestricted free agency, the right move is probably keeping the core together — for now.”

• The Knicks are “100 percent expected” to be among the teams that pursue Towns if the Timberwolves make him available, as we relayed here. But that’s a mighty big if.

Thunder

The Thunder made the first intriguing trade of the offseason, acquiring gritty guard Alex Caruso from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.

Without a doubt, Caruso should fit in well with this young, rising squad. Head of basketball operations Sam Presti even called him “the quintessential Thunder player.” But it shouldn’t be Presti’s last move, per Pelton.

“The bold move is the Thunder making a run to bring Paul George back to Oklahoma City in free agency,” Pelton wrote. “This would likely require trading Ousmane Dieng, Kenrich Williams, this year’s No. 12 pick and additional salary to create the necessary cap space.”

That seems like a long shot, though, as it’s hard to know if the Clippers would go for that.

“More realistically, Oklahoma City’s goal this offseason should be to find a player like Dallas’ P.J. Washington, who can offer positional size and adequate shooting,” Pelton added.

• Of the Caruso trade, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote: “OKC has made its first true win-now move that rival teams have been anticipating for some time, swapping one of the Thunder’s prized lottery picks for a veteran who fits perfectly within OKC’s five-out scheme. Many league observers quickly compared this acquisition to that of Boston landing Derrick White — a key building block toward the Celtics’ championship.
• Meanwhile, the Thunder have been identified as the “top threat” to sign center Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks. We have that full story here.