The Brandon Ingram trade rumors are heating up.
The New Orleans Pelicans star has been the center of trade discussions leading up to the trade deadline with the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks reportedly the frontrunners to acquire him, according to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer:
“The Pelicans, sources said, have held ongoing dialogue with both Toronto and Atlanta about acquiring Ingram….There would seem to be a realistic pathway for Toronto to match the bulk of Ingram’s salary with Bruce Brown’s expiring $23 million contract, but the Raptors and Pelicans have discussed various scenarios for Ingram, sources said.”
The Raptors are reportedly looking to add a “significant piece” to pair with Scottie Barnes according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. as the team navigates through their rebuild.
The Raptors have the contracts needed to match Ingram’s $36 million salary with Brown’s $23 million expiring contract being the ideal piece along with Chris Boucher, Kelly Olynyk or Davion Mitchell to help balance the trade. Toronto would likely have to include draft compensation as well. If the Pelicans take on this kind of deal it would help them shed salary and dip below the luxury tax.
However, a trade like this would handcuff the Raptors financially. Ingram is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is due for a new contract, therefore any raise the Raptors would give him would push Toronto well into the luxury tax if they also want to keep their core in tact (Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl). The Raptors putting themselves into the restrictive luxury tax for a team that still wouldn’t be close to title contention wouldn’t be wise.
A better pathway for the Raptors financially to remain under the tax even after re-signing Ingram would be to move RJ Barrett who will earn $27 million next season. Barrett and Zion Williamson played together at Duke and that’s a piece the Pelicans could be seeking here. That’s a big decision for the Raptors to make, however, considering they just traded for Barrett and he has been thriving since arriving in Toronto.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Lakers have inquired about Jakob Poeltl
The Los Angeles Lakers have inquired about Jakob Poeltl, but prying him away from the Toronto Raptors will be tough. The Raptors are holding out for an offer for Poeltl that would include a first-round pick, per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
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