<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pelicans-news-did-brandon-ingram-just-send-more-subtle-messages-to-front-office-amid-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pelicans news: Did Brandon Ingram just send more subtle messages to front office amid trade rumors?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Did-Brandon-Ingram-just-send-more-subtle-messages-to-front-office-amid-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Pelicans news: Did Brandon Ingram just send more subtle messages to front office amid trade rumors?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-10T17:57:08-07:00">September 10th, 5:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-10T17:57:08-07:00">September 10th, 5:57pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been spending a lot of time on social media and the purpose has not exactly been clear. Two of the newest Instagram posts are also of the subtle variety but they got the attention of any fan of the Pelicans. Those fans are all asking the same questions, again: Should the front office be worried about these posts?</p><p>There are ways the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-pelicans-make-brandon-ingram-work-next-season">Pelicans can make Ingram work with Zion Williamson</a>, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy. Those five are the foundation for the future. If Ingram wants to stick around there will seemingly have to be financial and on-court sacrifices made. Taking less money and more three-pointers is just the start. Instead, Ingram’s posts seem to highlight was has been <a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1833608357325758654" rel="noopener">done in the past.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Brandon Ingram’s newest IG stories:<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pelicans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pelicans</a> <a href="https://t.co/d6qHIZECQ2">pic.twitter.com/d6qHIZECQ2</a></p><p>— Dodson, Chris Dodson (@DoingItDodson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1833608357325758654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Everyone can talk. Ask them what they’ve done,” Jay-Z begins. “It was 365 days last year and I can tell you exactly what I’ve done. Let me tell you, everything I’ve done in the last year to create change. I can tell you the amount of people I’ve saved from going to jail…”</p><p>The second Instagram story was just a screenshot of Ingram’s phone playing To Whom It May Concern from the album Trust the Process by Ace Hood. It’s hard to trust the process when communicating through social media smokescreens though.</p><h2><b>Pelicans pushing luck with training camp contract friction</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Brandon-Ingram-walks-through-the-handshake-line.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ingram is entering the final year of a five-year, $158 million rookie scale contract extension with the Pelicans. New Orleans has been very hesitant to offer another max-level deal to the former second-overall pick. The one-time All-Star has been included in practically every trade rumor segment since news of Ingram’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/source-pelicans-brandon-ingram-trade-market-considered-mild" rel="noopener">tepid market</a> broke.</p><p>This recent late summer social media activity seems to reflect his frustration with the team’s reluctance to commit to him long-term. Conservations have lingered all offseason. Now, these Instagram stories have done nothing but sparked significant speculation that there could be friction heading into training camp. Ingram <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/what-pelicans-can-learn-players-only-training-camp">skipping out on voluntary workouts</a> after years of being the lead organizer only added fuel to the fire.</p><p>The initial post featured a clip from a motivational speaker discussing the importance of recognizing one’s value. The speech emphasized finding and valuing people and places that appreciate one’s talent. Stick to your true worth and everything will all work out, essentially.</p><p>“You cannot stay in environments where people don’t know the true value of you,” the speaker declared. “If you stay in environments where people don’t recognize the value of you, you will shrink your gift to the size of what they can stand.”</p><p>Ingram’s posts come at a critical time for the Pelicans. The team is trying to build a competitive roster around Williamson, Murray, Murphy, and Jones. Ingram could be a big piece of a championship puzzle. However, his recent social media activity suggests that he may be considering free agency options next summer. The Pelicans would then be under pressure to find a trade before the deadline. Meeting contract demands would no longer be their problem.</p><p>However, even that strategy presents a dilemma for the small-market Pelicans. On one hand, they need to manage their finances carefully to build a sustainable team while likely having to avoid the luxury tax. On the other hand, losing a player of Ingram’s caliber for nothing could set them back significantly.</p><p>Will the next social media post be cryptic, news of a consolidation trade, or of a new contract? Only one person truly knows that answer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pelicans news: Did Brandon Ingram just send more subtle messages to front office amid trade rumors?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-jazz-linked-to-brandon-ingram-trade-amid-lauri-markkanen-saga');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Jazz linked to Brandon Ingram trade amid Lauri Markkanen saga');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Jazz-linked-to-Brandon-Ingram-trade-amid-Lauri-Markkanen-saga.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Jazz linked to Brandon Ingram trade amid Lauri Markkanen saga</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-29T09:41:57-07:00">July 29th, 9:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-30T05:57:15-07:00">July 30th, 5:57am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Most of the major dominoes of the 2024 NBA offseason period have already fallen. But there is still one major player who could change the landscape of the NBA contending picture — Lauri Markkanen. All offseason long, many eyes have been on the Utah Jazz in anticipation of whether or not they would be keeping Markkanen amid deafening trade rumors linking him to a few suitors, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-warriors-lauri-markkanen-trade-offer-unchanged-amid-jazz-demands">the most prominent of which</a> is the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Alas, there are no indications that Markkanen is angling for a trade from the Jazz. In fact, Markkanen is reportedly content with the Jazz, and he might end up signing a huge contract extension when the opportunity first presents itself (August 6). If the Jazz keep Markkanen, then they may have to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-lauri-markkanen-brandon-ingram-kyle-kuzma-trade-scenarios">pull off a win-now trade</a> or two to make things worth their while, as per Brett Siegel, NBA insider for ClutchPoints.</p><p>To that end, it <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lauri-markkanen-brandon-ingram-and-the-importance-of-aug-6/id1627101192?i=1000663433191" rel="noopener">remains very “possible”</a> that the Jazz acquire New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram amid a lukewarm trade market for the former All-Star forward, according to Christian Clark and Adam McCreary on From The Wing podcast.</p><p>The Jazz have decided to let their feet off the gas pedal in the final few months of the past two seasons. They reside in that awkward middle ground where they’re not too solid of a team to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and they’re also not too bad of a team to compete with the worst of the worst for a top-three draft pick.</p><p>While Brandon Ingram won’t be the final piece to the Jazz’s playoff-contention puzzle, acquiring the Pelicans forward should at least help them be more competitive as they look to threaten for a play-in spot in a loaded conference.</p><h2><b>Brandon Ingram, welcome to the Jazz?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Brandon-Ingram-dribbles-the-ball-against-the-Thunder.jpg"></figure><p>It has seemed inevitable all offseason long that Brandon Ingram would be switching teams. Ingram ended the 2023-24 season in the worst way possible, struggling under the immense pressure of leading the Pelicans in a difficult first-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the aftermath of another unfortunate Zion Williamson injury.</p><p>Moreover, with the Pelicans letting Jonas Valanciunas walk in free agency and trading away Larry Nance Jr. in the Dejounte Murray trade, it seemed as though dealing Ingram for a new starting center was their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingrams-200-million-contract-desires-complicate-pelicans-trade-efforts">next logical move</a>. Alas, with Ingram set to enter free agency after the 2024-25 season, the trade market for him has been very chilly, as not a single team has stepped up and expressed much interest in offering the Pelicans forward a huge extension.</p><p>But the Jazz have plenty of future cap space, and they actually expressed interest in pulling off blockbuster moves for the likes of Mikal Bridges and Paul George, just to name a few. They also have someone like Walker Kessler whom they can dangle to the Pelicans in a trade that makes a ton of sense for both sides. Don’t sleep on the Jazz as a sleeper Ingram destination, especially with Danny Ainge at the helm.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Jazz linked to Brandon Ingram trade amid Lauri Markkanen saga

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brandon-ingrams-camp-takes-action-amid-pelicans-trade-efforts');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s camp takes action amid Pelicans trade efforts');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Brandon-Ingrams-camp-takes-action-amid-Pelicans-trade-efforts.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s camp takes action amid Pelicans trade efforts</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-12T08:04:53-07:00">July 12th, 8:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-12T08:04:53-07:00">July 12th, 8:04am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans had built up hope with how well they were playing in the middle of the 2023-24 season that it became all the more frustrating when their season turned sour in the end once more. Zion Williamson’s injury in the play-in tournament contest against the Los Angeles Lakers ground their contending aspirations to a screeching halt, and in the end, the Pelicans became way too overmatched against the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder — with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-fans-want-willie-green-fired-brandon-ingram-traded-thunder-playoff-sweep">Brandon Ingram’s stock</a> taking a massive dip in the process.</p><p>Now, Ingram is in the final year of his deal, and the Pelicans, instead of losing him for nothing, appears to be doing whatever they can to shop the former All-Star in the trade market. Ingram may be a talented player, but the Pelicans have no intention, as per reports, of paying him what he’s demanding — a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingrams-200-million-contract-desires-complicate-pelicans-trade-efforts">contract worth $210 million</a> over four years.</p><p>The Pelicans aren’t alone in this reluctance; per NBA insider Marc Stein, they haven’t found a team that’s willing to cave in to Brandon Ingram’s contract demands. As a result, even Ingram’s camp is <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/my-nba-trade-talk-and-free-agency" rel="noopener">being proactive</a> in helping find a new home for the 26-year-old forward, with his representation searching for a team that’s looking to sign him to a huge contract extension to facilitate a trade with New Orleans.</p><p>Alas, in the financial landscape of today’s NBA, it may be impossible to find a team that will be willing to pay Ingram upwards of $50 million per year, especially in the aftermath of a terrible end to the 2023-24 season. He needed to step up in the aftermath of Williamson, and whatever the opposite of stepping up is was what the 26-year-old forward did instead. He may have been coming off injuries, but his poor body language and inability to do much of anything against Luguentz Dort did not help his value whatsoever.</p><p>It’s unclear how much the increased involvement from Ingram’s camp would influence a potential trade. But it’s becoming increasingly more likely in light of this development that Ingram is no longer a Pelican at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.</p><h2>Brandon Ingram’s potential trade destinations, analyzed</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brandon-Ingram-1.jpg"></figure><p>It behooves any team in search of a do-it-all, shot-creating wing to call the Pelicans and inquire about what it would take to bring Brandon Ingram on board. Ingram averaged 20.8 points. 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists last season, and as a three-level scorer, he would give any team a higher floor on the offensive end.</p><p>One team that still comes to mind is the Cleveland Cavaliers. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-perfect-brandon-ingram-trade-proposal-to-pelicans">Cavs and Pelicans</a> remain one of the most logical trade partners in the association. Breaking up the Jarrett Allen-Evan Mobley pairing has long been a point of discussion, and trading Allen away for the chance to get their long-term small forward alongside Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, could be worth the Cavs’ while.</p><p>However, Brian Windhorst of ESPN noted that the Cavs will have to dip into the second tax apron if they were to give Ingram a contract extension. Mobley is due for a contract extension as well, now that he’s entering the fourth season of his career. With teams unwilling to give Ingram a four-year, $210 million deal, perhaps the 26-year-old forward agrees to sign an extension at a lower value. But will the Cavs have enough financial leeway to pull it off?</p><p>Other than the Cavs, teams such as Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, and even the Los Angeles Lakers could be those to watch out for. The Clippers may be more in need of a true power forward to spare Kawhi Leonard the responsibility of lining up at the four, but losing Paul George has left a huge shot-creation void for them on the wing.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Rockets have not been shy when it comes to their rumored pursuit of a superstar player. However, they may be setting their sights on better player than the Pelicans forward, with their prime targets being Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Heat and Lakers always manage to find their way into these conversations given their yearly pressure to win big.</p><h2>How is the Pelicans’ roster shaping up?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dejounte-Murray-dribbling-the-ball.jpeg"></figure><p>The Pelicans made a huge move earlier in the offseason when they dealt away Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., and two first-round picks for Dejounte Murray. Murray makes the Pelicans seven deep, with Ingram, CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, and Jose Alvarado all guaranteed to get heavy burn, with Jordan Hawkins perhaps warranting minutes in Year 2.</p><p>But the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-biggest-mistake-in-2024-nba-free-agency">Pelicans’ center rotation</a> is still questionable at best; will they actually start one of Yves Missi, Daniel Theis, or Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at the five?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s camp takes action amid Pelicans trade efforts

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brandon-ingrams-200-million-contract-desires-complicate-pelicans-trade-efforts');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s $200 million contract desires complicate Pelicans’ trade efforts');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Brandon-Ingrams-200-million-contract-desires-complicate-Pelicans-trade-efforts.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s $200 million contract desires complicate Pelicans’ trade efforts</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-10T07:18:52-07:00">July 10th, 7:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-10T07:18:52-07:00">July 10th, 7:18am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Following another disappointing season marred by injury troubles and an early exit from championship contention, it seemed as though the New Orleans Pelicans were going to take drastic measures amid a vote of no confidence in their current core. One of the more likely steps the Pelicans were going to take was to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-lauri-markkanen-brandon-ingram-kyle-kuzma-trade-scenarios">trade away Brandon Ingram</a> as he’ll be entering the final year of his deal.</p><p>However, heading into the middle of July, Ingram is still a member of the Pelicans franchise, and New Orleans has instead bolstered their core with the addition of former All-Star Dejounte Murray for the low price of Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks. The Pelicans reportedly remain willing to entertain trade offers for the 26-year-old forward, but there remains a huge elephant in the room that’s proving to be a major roadblock to a potential deal.</p><p>With Brandon Ingram being in the final year of his deal, any team that will be trading for him will have to sign him to an extension, lest they risk trading legitimate assets away for a player who can walk in free agency. But signing Ingram to an extension requires a significant financial commitment that teams simply <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNCleveland/status/1810685204920709280" rel="noopener">may not be willing to make</a> at the moment, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.</p><p>“The reason that the Pelicans want to trade Brandon Ingram isn’t because he’s not a good player. It’s because he wants a $200 million contract extension and they don’t want to give it. And whatever team trades for him inherits the same exact situation,” Windhorst said in an appearance on 850 ESPN Cleveland radio.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a> breaks down the issues with trading for Brandon Ingram, notably the fact that he wants a $200 million contract extension… <a href="https://t.co/RtqMF3qkvq">pic.twitter.com/RtqMF3qkvq</a></p><p>— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNCleveland/status/1810685204920709280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Indeed, in the financial landscape of today’s NBA, it’s more difficult for teams to stockpile on players who make upwards of $35 to $40 million a year. Teams are becoming increasingly wary of crossing the second tax apron, as this basically puts a choke hold on teams’ means of improving their rosters.</p><p>But again, Brandon Ingram is someone who averaged 21/5/6 this past season, and he’s right in the middle of the prime years of his career. With wings who can do it all always being a necessity for teams looking to contend for a championship, expect there to be a team that bites the bullet and trades for Ingram with the knowledge that they’ll have to give him big bucks soon.</p><h2><b>Where can the Pelicans trade Brandon Ingram? Will they even deal him away?</b></h2><p>The Pelicans have assembled one of the deepest cores in the association. Dejounte Murray might not be the All-Star player he once was, but perhaps in a smaller role in New Orleans, he could go back to being his best two-way self. Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum are still around, Ingram is a swiss-army knife on the wing, and the team has top-tier role players such as Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and Jose Alvarado, to name a few, ready to provide support.</p><p>But the Pelicans remain as ripe for a trade as any team there is in the NBA. At the moment, New Orleans is severely lacking in depth at the center position. They trust Yves Missi to become a good player, but he’s only a rookie; not every athletic freshman center can be as impactful as Dereck Lively II was in his rookie season. They also added Daniel Theis, but Theis profiles as more of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-daniel-theis-contract-jonas-valanciunas-free-agency-departure">backup center</a> at this point of his career.</p><p>Thus, there remains a possibility that the Pelicans go the blockbuster route and try to acquire their long-term starting center in exchange for Ingram. The Cleveland Cavaliers still loom as one of the more logical trade destinations for the 27-year-old forward, but there remains a few roadblocks in the Cavs’ potential pursuit of the one-time All-Star.</p><p>For one, Windhorst noted that the Cavs will have to trade away Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert to acquire Ingram just to match salaries. Will they be willing to do that? Moreover, the Cavs will exceed the second apron if they re-sign Ingram to his desired contract; will Cleveland’s ownership be willing to stomach shelling out that kind of money for a core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Ingram, and Evan Mobley?</p><p>Brett Siegel, NBA insider for ClutchPoints, brought up the Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, and Utah Jazz as a few other teams that could be in the running for Ingram. The Magic have Wendell Carter Jr. (although they are not willing to trade him, per reports), the Blazers have Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III, the Pistons have Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, while the Jazz have Walker Kessler as centers who could be potential centerpieces of an Ingram trade.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram’s $200 million contract desires complicate Pelicans’ trade efforts

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-brandon-ingram-trade-talks-intensifying');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram trade talks ‘intensifying’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-Brandon-Ingram-trade-talks-intensifying.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram trade talks ‘intensifying’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-05T06:20:58-07:00">July 5th, 6:20am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-05T06:20:58-07:00">July 5th, 6:20am</time><address><a>Gerard Angelo Samillano</a>Gerard Angelo Samillano is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, with his focus primarily on the NBA, NFL, MLB and Gaming. When he's not writing for CP, Gerard can often be seen playing VALORANT or playing pick-up basketball. He's also working on his BS Mathematics degree.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans are staring down the barrel of a massive change for the team. Negotiations with star forward Brandon Ingram on a new deal have<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-trade-buzz-list-of-potential-suitors"> seemingly broken down</a>. As a result, both sides have pivoted into searching for a suitable trade partner to move the All-Star forward.</p><p>These <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-free-agency-and-trade?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146281657&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">talks have now reportedly intensified</a> over the last few days, according to Marc Stein. With the chances of a contract agreement slim, the Pelicans are now looking to trade Brandon Ingram. This would give New Orleans something back in return for the star and allows Ingram to seek greener pastures elsewhere.</p><p>“Attempts in New Orleans to trade Brandon Ingram have intensified in recent days, league sources say. Sources tell The Stein Line that on Ingram’s side, with the reality that the contract extension terms his camp had hoped for are not forthcoming from the Pelicans, there has likewise been exploration of trade options.”</p><p>After a rocky stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Ingram developed into a star with the Pelicans. He arrived on the team with Larry Nance Jr and Lonzo Ball as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Ingram became a one-time All-Star and received the Most Improved Player award in 2020.</p><p>Last season, Ingram averaged around 20 points per game along with around five rebounds and assists per contest. Unfortunately, the Pelicans’ attempt at a Big 3 with Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Zion Williamson have not succeeded. It’s seen some highs, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-zion-williamson-shares-injury-status-update-amid-playoff-series">the trio’s spotty injury</a> only brought disappointment year after year.</p><h2><b>Kings emerging as Ingram suitor</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brandon-Ingram-making-a-pass.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>There’s at least one team that’s actively looking at Brandon Ingram<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young"> as a trade target</a>: the Sacramento Kings. Stein’s report notes the team’s interest in trading for the former All-Star. The interest seems to stem from Kings assistant Alvin Gentry’s experience with the Pelicans star, having coached New Orleans before.</p><p>“Sacramento is a team said to have explored the feasibility and fit of an Ingram pursuit — as well as Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma and Chicago’s DeRozan — as part of the Kings’ long-running efforts to package Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes (but not Keegan Murray) in a significant trade. The Kings have particular insight on Ingram thanks to Alvin Gentry’s presence in Sacramento’s front office after coaching Ingram for one season with the Pelicans.”</p><p>Like the Pelicans, the Kings are another up-and-coming team in the Western Conference. Sacramento broke their two-decade long playoff drought two years ago, and they’ve become consistent playoff candidates since. However, they have been unable to reach the second round quite yet, crumbling against the powerhouses of the West.</p><p>Would the Pelicans star be the fix that the Kings need? Perhaps, but it’s at least worth a shot. Ingram would be an upgrade over Barnes, but it’s still going to be tough to crack the West’s top four teams. Pairing Barnes with another All-Star big in Domantas Sabonis and star guard De’Aaron Fox would certainly make for an interesting team.</p><p>As for the Pelicans, the team will be looking to build around Zion Williamson. One of their priorities this offseason seems to be extending breakout forward Trey Murphy.</p><p>“Trading Ingram and then re-signing Trey Murphy III to a contract extension this summer, as well as bolstering their frontline with Jonas Valanciunas soon heading to Washington, are seen as the Pelicans’ next significant moves in the wake of the trade they struck with Atlanta to acquire Murray that could still expand.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram trade talks ‘intensifying’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-interested-magic-trade-to-replace-jonas-valanciunas');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans interested in Magic trade to replace Jonas Valanciunas');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-interested-in-Magic-trade-to-replace-Jonas-Valanciunas.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans interested in Magic trade to replace Jonas Valanciunas</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T14:27:10-07:00">June 30th, 2:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T14:27:10-07:00">June 30th, 2:27pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Friday evening, the New Orleans Pelicans made a splash on the trade market when it was announced that they would be trading for Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, Jr., and two future first round picks. It was a hefty price<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-2-dark-horse-brandon-ingram-trade-possibilities"> for the Pelicans</a> to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-atlanta-trades-dejounte-murray-pelicans">pay for Murray</a>, who saw his defensive reputation take a severe hit during his tenure with the Hawks but remains a gifted shot creator, something that New Orleans was in desperate need of during their first round sweep loss at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Another potential <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-lebron-james-paul-george-klay-thompson-brandon-ingram-isaiah-hartenstein-more/" rel="noopener">area of need</a> for this Pelicans group is around the basket, as center Jonas Valanciunas can leave the team once free agency begins on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET. If the latest reports are any indication, it seems that the Pelicans are already making plans for reinforcements in the event that the big man does indeed take his talents elsewhere.</p><p>“Amid the expected (Isaiah) Hartenstein courtship, rival teams have expressed trade interest in Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., including the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources told HoopsHype,” reported NBA insider Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “The Pelicans are searching to add a center, with Jonas Valanciunas expected to depart in free agency…”</p><p>Wendell Carter profiles as one of the more intriguing, under the radar big men in the game today, capable of stretching the floor and showing good versatility and instincts to make up for his relative lack of size for the position.</p><h2><b>What is the Pelicans’ ceiling?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Valanciunas-after-a-play.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>A lot of that will depend on what ends up happening with small forward Brandon Ingram, who the Pelicans could still theoretically look to trade if the two sides can’t come to an agreements on a contract extension. Right now, it doesn’t seem that Ingram and the Pelicans are seeing eye to eye on that front.</p><p>Even without Ingram, this Pelicans’ team has a lot to like. While Murray and CJ McCollum will likely be a turnstile on defense just as Murray and Trae Young were in Atlanta, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy are both elite wing defenders who can help compensate for that, and if the team does bring in Carter, that gives them another plus defender in the mix.</p><p>Of course, the biggest question mark with New Orleans, as has been the case ever since they drafted him back in 2019, is the health of Zion Williamson. When Williamson is on the court, the Pelicans can compete with anyone, as he truly is one of the best 15 to 20 players in the NBA, boasting a unique combination of explosiveness and touch around the rim that is nearly impossible to fully shut off.</p><p>However, despite enjoying the healthiest season of his career to date in 2023-24, Williamson sustained an injury at the worst possible time against the Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in game and was forced to miss the entire (four game) postseason run.</p><p>In any case, the Pelicans could certainly look a lot different when next season rolls around.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans interested in Magic trade to replace Jonas Valanciunas

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-2-dark-horse-brandon-ingram-trade-possibilities');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 dark-horse Brandon Ingram trade possibilities');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2-dark-horse-Brandon-Ingram-trade-possibilities.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 dark-horse Brandon Ingram trade possibilities</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T09:05:34-07:00">June 30th, 9:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T09:05:34-07:00">June 30th, 9:05am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Naples, Florida</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In just a matter of hours, NBA free agency officially begins, giving teams the opportunity to remake their rosters in the most drastic ways possible. One team that has already done just that this offseason is the New Orleans Pelicans, who on Friday <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-atlanta-trades-dejounte-murray-pelicans">traded for Atlanta Hawks guard</a> Dejounte Murray. However, just because the Pels have made one big move already, it doesn’t mean that they’re done dealing just yet. Only instead of trading for a former NBA All-Star, they could be sending one out the door.</p><p>“With trade chatter surrounding George settling down after he opted out of his contract, as well as Dejounte Murray being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Brandon Ingram now becomes the focal point of discussions,” <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-warriors-failed-paul-george-pursuit-nba-free-agency">writes ClutchPoints NBA insider</a> Brett Siegel. “Ingram is entering the final year of his contract and has been made available for trade. At 26 years old, there is still a lot to like about Ingram’s game and ability to be a primary scoring option. However, very few teams have shown legitimate interest at this time in the Pelicans forward.”</p><p>There are a number of reasons why teams aren’t lining up to inquire with the Pelicans about the availability of Brandon Ingram. Over the last three seasons, Ingram has missed 82 games, and given the continued growth of younger wings Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, in addition to the Pels’ commitment to run more of the offense through Zion Williamson, BI has become expendable to a certain extent.</p><p>So that raises the question, who will be the team that ends up prying Ingram away from New Orleans? The Jazz have been in the mix for a variety of potentially available pseudo-stars, and Ingram fits the bill. Additionally, the 76ers have deemed Brandon Ingram their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-is-76ers-plan-b-if-paul-george-pursuit-fails">“plan B”</a> if their pursuit of Paul George falls short. But according to Brett Siegel, two other teams are considered dark-horse contenders to get in the mix for Ingram as well.</p><p>“The Jazz will likely internally discuss the possibility of pursuing Ingram this offseason, as will the 76ers if they are unable to land George. Two teams viewed as possible dark-horse destinations for Ingram are the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors, sources said.”</p><p>Though Ingram’s trade value is something of a mystery at this point in time, from a salary standpoint, a potential deal with both the Kings and Raptors is actually pretty straight-forward. The contracts of Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes would be enough for Sacramento to get a deal done for Ingram, and the same could be said of Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk in Toronto.</p><p>But is there one more mystery team who could get in the mix for Brandon Ingram? One that has taken on a former high lottery pick with a questionable fit in the past, only to see it eventually pay off?</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brandon-Ingram-making-a-pass-1024x574.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h2><b>Could the Golden State Warriors make a late play for Brandon Ingram? </b></h2><p>At the conclusion of his section on Brandon Ingram, Brett Siegel asks the question, “Could the Warriors possibly emerge as another dark-horse suitor for Ingram in the immediate aftermath of their failed trade talks for George?” We’ve seen the Warriors make a move like this in the past when they traded for 2014 #1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins back in February 2020. Wiggins’ fit within the Warriors finely tuned offensive system was questioned, but just two years later, Golden State won their fourth NBA Title in the Stephen Curry/Steve Kerr era.</p><p>The Warriors were initially thought to be in the mix for Paul George, but those rumors have fizzled out. Golden State <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-warriors-open-klay-thompson-trade-help-get-him-to-new-team">will likely be losing Klay Thompson</a> this summer, and that leaves an opening for a player like Brandon Ingram to be able to step in to. Ingram doesn’t provide the Warriors with the floor spacing that Klay Thompson did, nor is he someone who could crash the glass and impact the game defensively like Andrew Wiggins did, but Ingram has scored at least 20 points per game in each of the last five seasons.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 dark-horse Brandon Ingram trade possibilities

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-spurs-among-trae-youngs-preferred-trade-destinations');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers, Spurs among Trae Young’s preferred trade destinations');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lakers-Spurs-among-Trae-Youngs-preferred-trade-destinations.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers, Spurs among Trae Young’s preferred trade destinations</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-28T10:14:07-07:00">June 28th, 10:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-28T12:48:38-07:00">June 28th, 12:48pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta Hawks are starting their new era, but does that mean they’ll show the door to their old guard? <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-trae-youngs-1-emoji-post-jj-redick-hire-has-lakers-fans-thinking-trade">Star guard Trae Young</a> is still just 25, but the squad is rumored to be looking to build around the kids.</p><p>Young is eyeing the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/brandon-ingram-expected-to-become-available-for-trade-as-wing-market-comes-into-focus-150152771.html" rel="noopener">as potential destinations</a>, via Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.</p><p>“The Hawks are certainly expected to now gauge trade possibilities for Murray, All-Star guard Trae Young, Clint Capela and the rest of their rostered players who aren’t named Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher, sources said,” Fischer explained. “Young does have the Pelicans in mind of preferred possible next teams, league sources told Yahoo Sports, in addition to the Spurs and Lakers, but Young’s fit has never made much sense for a New Orleans situation that currently features C.J. McCollum in its backcourt.”</p><p>With the Pelicans reportedly looking to deal Brandon Ingram, the two squads could feasibly work out a deal centering around him and Young. However, as Fischer pointed out, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-reasons-pelicans-must-pursue-trae-young-before-other-options">Young teaming up</a> with McCollum and oft-injured Zion Williamson isn’t as exciting as a potential Spurs or Lakers move would be.</p><p>How likely is it that Young finds himself in the Lone Star State or Tinseltown this summer?</p><h2><b>The Hawks would be hard-pressed to get a good enough return from the Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trae-Young-fakes-out-Pelicans.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Young teaming up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis would give Los Angeles <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/trae-young-next-team-odds" rel="noopener">a realistic shot at a title</a>, via FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd.</p><p>“Trae Young with LeBron James — I’m here for it,” Cowherd said. “I do think he would work here. It would be something [Anthony Davis] would like because Trae Young could space the floor. It would be harder to collapse. It’s very easy for teams to collapse on Anthony Davis because the Lakers don’t have anyone that can shoot the 3. Trae Young is an elite 3-ball, a true point guard and a playmaker. LeBron wouldn’t have to be the overwhelming playmaker every time down the floor. Trae Young can do that and LeBron can play off the ball and conserve some energy.”</p><p>Young would provide the type of backcourt punch that the Lakers wanted from Russell Westbrook when they traded for him in 2021. The difference is that Young is a far superior shooter, and could primarily operate on the perimeter while James and Davis attack the rim.</p><p>“He is exactly what the doctor ordered,” Cowherd continued. “This is exactly the guy that JJ Redick wants to work with. He would be good with Trae Young.”</p><p>However, Los Angeles might not have enough assets to fetch Young in a deal. The organization owns just one first-round pick over the next three years and doesn’t have any rising players with star potential. A combination of Austin Reaves, a bench player, and a boatload of future draft picks could be enough, but there are no guarantees.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Spurs have four first-rounders next year alone, along with two each year between 2025-27. That, along with a player or two, is more than enough to fetch Young and pair him with the league’s most exciting second-year star Victor Wembanyama.</p><p>Regardless, it’s looking more and more like Young’s days in Atlanta are numbered.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers, Spurs among Trae Young’s preferred trade destinations

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-trade-buzz-list-of-potential-suitors');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade buzz ratchets up with list of potential suitors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Brandon-Ingram-trade-buzz-ratchets-up-with-list-of-potential-suitors.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade buzz ratchets up with list of potential suitors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-28T10:00:49-07:00">June 28th, 10:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-28T10:00:49-07:00">June 28th, 10:00am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the NBA Draft complete we move on to the free agency window. However, all eyes are on the rumor mill right now as trade buzz continues to grow around <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/4-ways-pelicans-can-bridge-25-million-contract-gap-brandon-ingram">the New Orleans Pelicans</a> star, Brandon Ingram. From the sounds of it, there are multiple teams potentially in the mix for the veteran small forward.</p><p>Reports indicate the Pelicans <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/brandon-ingram-expected-to-become-available-for-trade-as-wing-market-comes-into-focus-150152771.html" rel="noopener">want to keep</a> Ingram on the roster and that he wants to stay in New Orleans, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Although that may be true, the organization might be forced into trading Brandon Ingram due to salary cap purposes.</p><p>“David Griffin told reporters following Wednesday night’s first round the Pelicans hope to retain Ingram and that Ingram wants to remain with New Orleans. The Pelicans, though, have never paid into the luxury tax, and New Orleans will likely have to draw a line at some threshold below Ingram’s maximum potential salary.”</p><p>So, considering the Pelicans might be forced into a Brandon Ingram trade if they can’t figure out his contract, multiple teams have popped up as potential suitors for the star small forward. Those teams include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings.</p><p>Jake Fischer claims the 76ers have Ingram listed as a top target this offseason. But it sounds like Paul George is their top priority.</p><p>“Ingram has been listed among Philadelphia’s targets this offseason, sources said, somewhere below George, although it’s not exactly clear where Ingram ranks among the Sixers’ proverbial group of wing targets to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. In the event George spurns Philadelphia, the Sixers could easily acquire Ingram into their $60-plus million in cap space, but could Philly’s three first-round picks prove enough for Ingram?”</p><p>Meanwhile, the Cavaliers might be interested in a Brandon Ingram trade, however, it’s not clear exactly how they can get the deal done. From the sounds of it, the Cavs might not be willing to give up Jarrett Allen in a trade, who is a player the Pelicans are reportedly interested in. They’re not likely going to part ways with Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland either.</p><p>“Without parting with Allen, who’s long been on New Orleans’ radar, it’s difficult to find a path to bring Ingram to Northeast Ohio.”</p><p>As for the Hawks, rumors are they have not been in talks with the Pelicans for a possible Brandon Ingram trade. Despite that, Atlanta is a team that is expected to make some trades this offseason and Ingram could still be a possibility.</p><p>“Atlanta is another popular landing spot league figures have pointed to for Ingram, but there have been no substantive talks between the Hawks and Pelicans, sources said since the two teams discussed trade scenarios regarding Dejounte Murray before February’s trade deadline.”</p><p>Lastly, the Kings could be in the mix for Brandon Ingram as well. The franchise has been searching for a wing to improve the roster and has been closely tied to Kyle Kuzma and Zach LaVine. But Jake Fischer claims that Ingram could be in the mix too.</p><p>“One team to monitor for Ingram would be Sacramento. The Kings have been weighing paths to acquire various wings, sources said, from Kyle Kuzma to Zach LaVine, and Ingram could be another option for Sacramento to explore, sources said.”</p><h2>Brandon Ingram’s best landing spot if traded</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brandon-Ingram-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>When it comes down to it, any team who seeking a playoff run next season should be trying <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-philadelphia-new-betting-favorite-for-brandon-ingram-over-hawks">to land Brandon Ingram</a> via trade. Especially if it’s a team needing a more consistent scoring option on the wing. With that in mind, the 76ers should absolutely hit up the Pelicans and strike a deal.</p><p>Paul George might be their preferred target, which makes sense due to his abilities defensively. George is one of the best two-way players in the league and would be a massive pickup for Philly. But the idea of having a smoother scorer like Brandon Ingram on the roster sounds great too.</p><p>It’s not clear what the 76ers would have to give up for Brandon Ingram. But if the Pelicans are willing to deal, Philadelphia could send them multiple draft picks and a player or two to New Orleans. Only time will tell how it plays out, but these Ingram rumors are going to continue to buzz all offseason long.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade buzz ratchets up with list of potential suitors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pelicans-david-griffin-reveals-true-brandon-ingram-stance-amid-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pelicans’ David Griffin reveals true Brandon Ingram stance amid trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/David-Griffins-reveal-true-Brandon-Ingram-stance-amid-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Pelicans’ David Griffin reveals true Brandon Ingram stance amid trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-27T06:21:15-07:00">June 27th, 6:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-27T06:21:15-07:00">June 27th, 6:21am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Naples, Florida</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>David Griffin is not a stranger to the rigors of being in an NBA front office. Before he took over as the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, Griffin had spent nearly seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, struggling through four seasons without LeBron James, and then encountering a new set of struggles with him, related to crafting and keeping a championship contender in tact. The spotlight doesn’t shine as bright in New Orleans, but David Griffin still has tough decisions to make.</p><p>The one on the forefront of his mind, and the one that the entire National Basketball Association is keeping an eye on this summer is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-contact-rockets-76ers-about-brandon-ingram-trade">what the Pelicans will do</a> with veteran forward Brandon Ingram. Ingram, the 2020 Most Improved Player of the Year, has mostly plateaued since earning that honor four years ago, and his availability (or lack there of) has been a problem. In the past three seasons, Ingram has missed a combined 82 games — the equivalent of a full season’s worth of games. Despite this, if you ask David Griffin about Brandon Ingram’s status with the Pelicans, and he’s going to give all the right answers.</p><p>“Brandon (Ingram) wants to stay here,” David Griffin <a href="https://x.com/WillGuillory/status/1806173522735083712" rel="noopener">said on Wednesday night</a>, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic. “He believes in what we’re building. That’s meaningful to us. … At the same time, there’s a financial reality that we all deal with. We’re excited about Brandon. We know he’s excited about us.”</p><p>A savvy answer from a front office veteran who knows that appearing too eager to trade Brandon Ingram will only submarine his trade value. Now, David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans find themselves at a crossroads. They either need to pay Brandon Ingram a max deal and go into the luxury tax with a nucleus that <i>has</i> increased its win percentage of the last six seasons (but has won a total of one playoff game in that time) or find a trade partner for Ingram before next February’s trade deadline instead of letting him walk next summer and getting nothing back in return.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Brandon-Ingram-during-starting-line-up-introductions-1024x574.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h2><b>The uncertain future of the New Orleans Pelicans </b></h2><p>Brandon Ingram isn’t the only piece of the Pelicans’ core that comes with either baggage or a big Smoothie King Center-sized question mark next to him. Take for example, Zion Williamson. It’s well-known that the Pelicans want to build their current roster around Zion, which gives New Orleans even more reason to ship Ingram out in return for players who fit more neatly around Zion Williamson. And given what the Pelicans saw out of Zion Williamson over the back half of the season, there’s reason to believe he’s a player worth building around.</p><p>However, even though Zion played 70 games during the regular season, he still missed New Orleans’ very brief playoff stint due to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-zion-williamson-brutal-injury-timeline-means-playoff-disaster">fluky hamstring injury</a>. But considering how staying healthy, in shape and on the court has been such a struggle for Zion throughout his young NBA career, there’s still reason for concern if you’re New Orleans and you plan to build around the 2019 1st overall pick.</p><p>The highest paid player on the Pelicans roster <i>aside </i>from Zion Williamson is CJ McCollum, who is on the wrong side of 30 and is owed $63 million over the next two seasons. In the summer of 2026, when Trey Murphy III enters restricted free agency, it’s overwhelmingly likely that the Pelicans will want to lock him up to a long-term deal, if they haven’t already by the time the summer of 2026 rolls around.</p><p>In an ideal world, all of these pieces would coalesce and the Pelicans could fly higher — pun intended — than they ever have. But in order to get to that point, David Griffin and the Pels might need to make the tough decision to trade Brandon Ingram.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pelicans’ David Griffin reveals true Brandon Ingram stance amid trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-contact-rockets-76ers-about-brandon-ingram-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans contact Rockets, 76ers about Brandon Ingram trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/7527638393.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans contact Rockets, 76ers about Brandon Ingram trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-20T08:11:36-07:00">June 20th, 8:11am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-20T08:11:36-07:00">June 20th, 8:11am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans franchise appeared to be in an as enviable a position as any other team in the NBA as we entered the 2020s. They had a future superstar in Zion Williamson, a wing on the rise in Brandon Ingram, and a very deep arsenal of draft picks. Alas, this has not resulted in much success for them up to this point. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-intriguing-move-amid-brandon-ingram-trade-rumors">All they have to show</a> for it over the past four seasons are two playoff wins which all came in one playoff run (2022).</p><p>Thus, major changes may be coming for a Pelicans team that’s becoming expensive really quickly. With Ingram entering the final year of his contract, he appears to be the team’s most logical trade candidate. Two teams in particular have been floated as a possible destination for the former All-Star, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5574543/2024/06/20/rockets-draft-notebook-donovan-clingan/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">those teams being</a> the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.</p><p>While he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during the Pelicans’ short-lived stint in the 2024 NBA playoffs, Brandon Ingram is still an enticing player for teams in need of wing upgrades to pursue, especially after taking into account the fact that he averaged 21-5-6 this past season in 64 games — the most he has suited up in for a single season since his rookie campaign.</p><p>The Rockets have long been rumored to be in pursuit of a win-now trade for a star on the wing; they have been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rockets-still-holding-out-hope-mikal-bridges-trade">setting their sights</a> on Mikal Bridges for the past year or so, and it makes a bit of sense for the Pelicans to try and talk to them regarding a potential Ingram trade instead as he could be available for a lower price due to his contract situation. Alas, the hypothetical swap mentioned was one that involved Alperen Sengun, and justifiably, the Rockets reportedly have “no interest” in such a deal.</p><p>Meanwhile, the 76ers’ desire to add a third star in this year’s offseason may be the worst-kept secret in the entire NBA. Joel Embiid <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-joel-embiid-paul-george-recruitment-barely-dodges-tampering">did everything but tamper</a> during his appearance on the ESPN booth during the NBA Finals alongside Paul George, signaling the 76ers’ intentions to shoot for the stars.</p><p>Whatever the case may be, it’s looking very likely that the Pelicans start next season without Brandon Ingram on the roster. The only question now is which jersey will Ingram be donning for the 2024-25 campaign?</p><h2><b>Rockets attempt to expedite their rebuild</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Alperen-Sengun-dapping-up-Jalen-Green-1.jpg"></figure><p>The Rockets, after finishing with the <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=nba+worst+record+from+2020-21+to+2022-23+season" rel="noopener">worst cumulative record</a> from the 2020-21 to 2022-23 season (59-177, 25 percent win rate), improved astronomically this past season. After adding Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks and hiring Ime Udoka to be their next head coach, the Rockets experienced major gains, winning 41 games and making the Golden State Warriors sweat in the race for a play-in tournament spot.</p><p>It also helped that the Rockets have drafted well over the past few seasons; Alperen Sengun has been a gem who has flourished as the centerpiece of the team’s offense, Jalen Green burst onto the scene as one of the best scorers in the NBA to end the 2023-24 season, while Amen Thompson functioned as a swiss-army knife who was a major plus on the defensive end as well as on the glass.</p><p>However, the Rockets, as an organization, appear to have a directive to win now. They reportedly offered a boatload of picks for Mikal Bridges, which suggests that they would want a stellar complementary player with elite defense on the wing.</p><p>Bridges, however, seems to be untouchable. The Rockets, however, have the assets to stick to their guns and pursue the player they really like. It appears as though they aren’t too keen on Brandon Ingram, as they want to double down on the team’s identity of defensive grit to surround Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, not exactly good defenders for their respective positions, with pieces that complement them perfectly.</p><h2><b>Is a trade with the Pelicans the 76ers’ Plan B?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Pelicans-forward-Brandon-Ingram-14-is-fouled-by-Philadelphia-76ers-forward-Danny-Green-14-and-center-Joel-Embiid-21.jpg"></figure><p>The 76ers know that the time for them to go big on the trade market or in free agency is now. They can delay signing Tyrese Maxey to a huge contract so they could fit in another max contract to bolster their Joel Embiid-led core. But in terms of asset management, signing Paul George seems to be the best option, as they won’t have to give up any draft assets to add him.</p><p>But if the Clippers re-sign George, the 76ers will be faced with a difficult decision. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-is-76ers-plan-b-if-paul-george-pursuit-fails">Pelicans loom</a> as a potential trade partner, with Brandon Ingram coming in and becoming their max guy on the wing, but if there is a trade to be made, expect it to happen once the first wave of signings in free agency has come and gone.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans contact Rockets, 76ers about Brandon Ingram trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-preference-trae-young-dejounte-murray-in-potential-hawks-trade-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans’ preference between Trae Young, Dejounte Murray in potential Hawks trade talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Pelicans-preference-between-Trae-Young-Dejounte-Murray-in-potential-Hawks-trade-talks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans’ preference between Trae Young, Dejounte Murray in potential Hawks trade talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-26T12:57:15-07:00">May 26th, 12:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-26T12:57:15-07:00">May 26th, 12:57pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are currently coming off of what was a disastrous 2023-24 season that culminated in a Play-In game loss to the Chicago Bulls in April. While<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-drops-honest-review-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-mavericks-duo"> Young continued to</a> put up excellent statistics and earned another All-Star nod this year, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-donovan-clingan-dark-horse-hawks-option-no-1">Hawks as a whole</a> were the victims of an atrociously constructed roster that features arguably two average or above defenders (at most).</p><p>Three straight<a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/why-pelicans-should-target-a-guard-in-any-ingram-trade/article_bdb01b7c-1aa3-11ef-8499-e3c24bd8b915.html" rel="noopener"> early postseason exits</a> for the Hawks following their flukey Eastern Conference Finals run in 2021 means that the team now will have to deal with trade speculation throughout the 2024 offseason, and it’s now at the point where it’s certainly fair to wonder whether the team could entertain the idea of moving on from Young, backcourt running mate Dejounte Murray, or perhaps even both.</p><p>One team that would figure to be a logical suitor for a floor general this offseason is the New Orleans Pelicans, who saw their lack of stability in that department thoroughly exposed in their first round playoff sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder (albeit without Zion Williamson in the lineup).</p><p>Thus, it would make sense that the Pelicans and Hawks might potentially engage in some trade talks this summer, and now, more light is being shed on who the Pelicans may be looking to pry out of the Atlanta locker room.</p><p>“If the Pelicans reengaged the Hawks, they could look to pry away Murray or Young,” reported Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “Even though Young is the more talented player, the Pelicans seem to hold more interest in Murray, league sources said. The 6-5 Murray is not as much of a defensive liability as the 6-1 Young can be. He is also on a cheaper contract; Murray will make $25.5 million next season, while Young is owed $43 million.”</p><p>Young does indeed have a reputation as a decidedly poor defender; however, Murray himself has also surprisingly been a clear negative on that end of the floor since joining the Hawks, showing poor instincts as to when to gamble for steals and a bizarre inability to stay in front of smaller ball-handlers despite his lengthy wingspan.</p><h2><b>Should the Hawks blow it up?</b></h2><p>Considering their ineptitude over the last three seasons, many fans and pundits alike have made calls for the Hawks to blow it up and embrace a full rebuild. The only problem? For the next three seasons, the Hawks do not control their own first round picks due to their trade for Murray with the San Antonio Spurs, meaning that all the losing they would theoretically do in that scenario wouldn’t yield any draft benefits.</p><p>Further complicating matters is the fact that the Hawks overcame three percent odds and somehow won the NBA Draft Lottery this year, although this does project to be the weakest draft class in over a decade, and perhaps longer.</p><p>In any case, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if either Murray, Young, or both is no longer in a Hawks uniform when next NBA season gets underway in October.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans’ preference between Trae Young, Dejounte Murray in potential Hawks trade talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pelicans-news-intriguing-move-amid-brandon-ingram-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pelicans make intriguing move amid Brandon Ingram trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/New-Orleans-make-intriguing-move-amid-Brandon-Ingram-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Pelicans make intriguing move amid Brandon Ingram trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-25T18:21:46-07:00">May 25th, 6:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-25T18:30:29-07:00">May 25th, 6:30pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans were seen as a team in a state of limbo entering the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament. A handful of big wins have raised the stakes this offseason as the Pelicans look to improve upon their first round exit from the 2024 NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>The young Thunder swept the Pels, now the onus is on the front office to give the current core of players and Coach Willie Green some additional help. On the afternoon of May 25, 2024, the Pelicans decided to shuffle their front office a bit, <a href="https://x.com/SportsRadio610/status/1794430126844748152">promoting Bryson Graham</a> to the team’s prestigious General Manager position.</p><p>The move happened after Trajan Langdon left the same position to become General Manager <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-new-orleans-front-office-decision-after-losing-gm-pistons">of the Detroit Pistons</a>. A well known and respected member of the Pelicans’ training staff <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-zion-williamson-losing-close-staff-member">also left the team</a>.</p><h2><b>Graham’s outlook as Pelicans GM</b></h2><p>Graham has been with the organization since 2010 and was named the Pels’ assistant general manager in 2019.</p><p>He played at Texas A&amp;M from 2006-2009 and was a graduate assistant under former Maryland Terrapins Head Coach Mark Turgeon before hopping aboard the Pelicans’ train.</p><p>Other roles Graham has served in include Player Development Director, Video Coordinator/Player Development Coach, Scouting Coordinator, and Director of College Scouting.</p><h2><b>Pelicans’ offseason question marks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Zion-smile-.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Pelicans have a lot to sort out heading into <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/no/season/2024/seasontype/2">the 2024-2025</a> offseason and NBA Draft.</p><p>The team’s leading postseason scorer CJ McCollum nonetheless let the Pelicans down in key moments. Zion Williamson’s injury concerns and missing of key games are a constant problem and second leading scorer Brandon Ingram’s time in New Orleans appears to be coming to an end, barring a new commitment to the longtime face of the franchise.</p><p>Ingram has just one year left on his contract with the team and could be dealt to make run for a roster reshuffling and reimagining. He has been mentioned in trade rumors. It’s anyone’s guess whether Graham will follow through on them.</p><p>The Pelicans’ current rebuilding and reimagining job will not be an easy one. The team is talented but still appears in need of a serious makeover to become a true contender in the West. Graham has the experience and the knowhow to turn the Pelicans into one of the top teams in the West, but he won’t be able to do it without Zion Williamson’s best effort and more than a few shrewd moves this offseason and beyond.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pelicans make intriguing move amid Brandon Ingram trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-emerge-as-potential-donovan-mitchell-trade-suitor');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-emerge-as-potential-Donovan-Mitchell-trade-suitor.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-17T23:10:55-07:00">May 17th, 11:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-17T23:10:55-07:00">May 17th, 11:10pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be one of the teams that helps dictate the flow of the 2024 NBA offseason. After all, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">wholesale changes</a> may be coming to the Cavs after an inescapable sense of disappointment appears to be plaguing the franchise at the moment. And the New Orleans Pelicans are among the teams monitoring the situation closely.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell’s future, in particular, is a hot topic of interest around the league, as he is entering the final year of his contract and it’s unclear if he’ll be staying in Cleveland for the long haul. It has long been rumored that Mitchell is angling for an eventual move to a big market team, which means that it’s possible that he won’t be signing an extension with the Cavs.</p><p>If that ends up being the case, the Cavs might decide to trade away Mitchell to recoup some of the value they gave up in their trade for him two years ago. And the Pelicans, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe via Evan Sidery of Forbes, “are a <a href="https://x.com/esidery/status/1791558343670075749" rel="noopener">potential team to monitor</a>” in the Mitchell sweepstakes.</p><p>The Pelicans are facing some tough decisions of their own this offseason. Jonas Valanciunas is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-phase-jonas-valanciunas-out-future-plans">likely to walk in free agency</a>, while Brandon Ingram, like Donovan Mitchell, is entering the final year of his contract as well. This makes the Pelicans and Cavs ideal trade partners, especially when New Orleans has also reportedly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out">shown interest</a> in Jarrett Allen.</p><h2><b>Will the Pelicans and Cavs swap stars?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cavaliers-guard-Donovan-Mitchell-45-shoots-a-jump-shot-against-New-Orleans-Pelicans-forward-Brandon-Ingram-14.jpg"></figure><p>With Brandon Ingram <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young">likely to depart the Pelicans</a> this offseason via trade, and the Cavs having to deal away Donovan Mitchell in the event that he decides not to sign an extension, it looks like the stars are aligning for the two teams, as a swap centered around those two could work. With the Pelicans, it might be time for Mitchell to function as his team’s lead guard, while Ingram fills the Cavs’ need for a shot creator on the wing.</p><p>Moreover, the Pelicans could expand the trade to include Jarrett Allen, although at this point, it will have to take a pretty penny to pry him away given that he’s under contract for <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/23617/jarrett-allen#:~:text=2021%2D2025%20Free%20Agent,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%2420%2C000%2C000." rel="noopener">just $20 million</a> for the next two seasons. But the framework of a deal is there — it’s up to the Pelicans to meet the Cavs’ price if Cleveland does end up selling off a few of their most important roster pieces.</p><p>For the Cavs, trading Mitchell and Allen away is a sign of faith in Darius Garland and Evan Mobley’s ability to lead the team. Garland’s camp has reportedly grown frustrated with being set aside to accommodate Mitchell, while Mobley, despite improving his three-point shot, still projects as a long-term center in today’s NBA.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Pelicans may have CJ McCollum at the point, but Donovan Mitchell is an upgrade over him in every way. Mitchell could then slot in alongside Herb Jones in the backcourt, with Trey Murphy ready to assume a starting role at the three. The center position is a question mark, but at the very least, the team will have Larry Nance Jr. around as a contingency plan.</p><p>This is looking like an offseason of upheaval for both the Cavs and Pelicans after both fell short of their lofty goals in 2024. The question is, will they have the guts to take a leap of faith and pull the trigger on a blockbuster trade?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-linked-to-Jarrett-Allen-trade-again-with-Jonas-Valanciunas-on-way-out.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-16T12:18:18-07:00">May 16th, 12:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T12:18:18-07:00">May 16th, 12:18pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans ended the 2023-24 season on a whimper; a campaign that had started out so promisingly ended in heartbreak when the Pelicans suffered a sweep in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. And now, major changes could be coming in the Big Easy. The main storyline surrounding the Pelicans is the future of Brandon Ingram, as it looks like the All-Star small forward is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young">on the outs</a> in New Orleans.</p><p>But it will also be interesting to monitor how the Pelicans fill out the rest of the roster. Trey Murphy III is due for a rookie scale contract extension, and it looks like the Pelicans will have to field a new face at the five with Jonas Valanciunas likely to sign elsewhere in free agency. To that end, it seems like they will throw their hat in the ring if ever there was to be a trade sweepstakes for Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen.</p><p>According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">Pelicans view Allen</a> as “one of their top options” to replace Valanciunas this offseason. As far as a potential trade package goes, Siegel pointed out that the Pelicans could then end up dangling away Brandon Ingram to the Cavs, with Caris LeVert joining Allen as the players headed to New Orleans in such a deal.</p><p>The Cavs are in need of a high-level wing player to take the team to the next level — could Ingram be the answer? For the Pelicans, is trading away Ingram, who’ll be in the final year of his deal, for Jarrett Allen and LeVert the best move, especially when there’ll be questions regarding the fit between Allen and Zion Williamson?</p><p>The Pelicans, however, aren’t expected to be alone in the Allen trade sweepstakes; the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder also emerged as two potential destinations for the Cavs big man.</p><h2>Will exchanging JV with Jarrett Allen be worth it for the Pelicans?</h2><p>Zion Williamson, despite sustaining yet another injury at an inopportune time, showed how dangerous he can be as the cornerstone of an up-and-coming Pelicans team. He is ever so dangerous when he attacks the rim with such ferocity, and when he gets going downhill, there might not be a more unstoppable player than him other than Giannis Antetokounmpo.</p><p>But Williamson, despite being one of the best at putting pressure on the rim, does not have much range on offense. He is limited to around the paint area, and with his rampaging slashing game, what he needs is a floor-spacing partner at the five to give him as much space as possible to work with.</p><p>Jonas Valanciunas was supposed to be that guy; alas, at heart, he is not a floor spacer. Rather, he is a post-up brute who is rather below-average on the defensive end. Valanciunas would have been dominant in the 1990s or early 2000s; alas, he plays in 2024, and while there’s a place for a player of his archetype, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-phase-jonas-valanciunas-out-future-plans">Pelicans haven’t exactly shown</a> that they value what he brings to the table.</p><p>More often than not, the Pelicans have leaned on Larry Nance Jr. as the team’s five man when it counts. New Orleans sometimes puts Williamson at the five, with Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy around to flank him. Valanciunas’ average playing time has decreased steadily over the past three seasons.</p><p>At the very least, Jarrett Allen will not be schemed out of the game on the defensive end. Allen is a mobile defensive big man who has the speed to cover a lot of ground on pick-and-roll defense. He would also the Pelicans with another dynamic lob threat, improving the team’s vertical spacing even further.</p><p>Allen has also shown greater feel in the playmaking department; the Cavs relied on him as an offensive hub when their other stars were injured, and he helped steady the ship. What he doesn’t do, however, is space the floor. Just how viable would a Williamson-Allen frontcourt be on offense with that being the case?</p><p>Teams can pack the paint against the two, and it’ll be easier to cover ground with two non-shooters on the floor. But the Pelicans’ paint attack will be difficult to stop. Williamson can then flourish as a short-roll playmaker as well, with Allen finishing a ton of lobs. Only 26 years old, Allen is right in the middle of his prime as well, and his arrival (and Ingram’s subsequent departure in this scenario) means that a ton of playing time will be opening up for Trey Murphy, who is one of the best marksmen in the association.</p><p>Dealing from a position of strength to fill an area of need is almost always a shrewd move in sports, so it’ll be no surprise if the Pelicans go all-in on Allen this offseason.</p><h2><b>Major changes incoming for the Cavs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Jarrett-Allen-and-Donovan-Mitchell-celebrate.jpg"></figure><p>It’s a bit startling that the Cavs have already had enough of their current core after just two years. But there’s an air of disappointment surrounding the franchise that means that moving on may be their best recourse.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell is reportedly displeased with a few of his teammates for their lack of maturity, Darius Garland’s camp is reportedly disappointed that he’s grown increasingly marginalized in the team’s offense, while Jarrett Allen reportedly irked some members of the franchise when he refused to take an injection in an attempt to numb the pain so he could play through his rib injury in the 2024 NBA playoffs.</p><p>Allen, in particular, irked the Cavs brass so much that some team insiders believe that he had already played his final game for the franchise. As Jason Lloyd of The Athletic pointed out in an appearance on 92.3 The Fan, he believes that Allen <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsBoyTony/status/1791095805304066174" rel="noopener">won’t be back</a> in Cleveland next season.</p><p>Jarrett Allen still has two years left on his contract at $20 million per, so it won’t be easy to pry him away from the Cavs. But the Pelicans have the assets to entice Cleveland. Fans of both teams better watch this space intently.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram to have bigger trade market than Trae Young');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Pelicans-Brandon-Ingram-Hawks-Trae-Young.jpeg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram to have bigger trade market than Trae Young</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-16T07:04:24-07:00">May 16th, 7:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T07:04:24-07:00">May 16th, 7:04am</time><address><a>Sam DiGiovanni</a>Sam DiGiovanni started at ClutchPoints as an associate editor in 2021 and became the site's Philadelphia 76ers beat reporter ahead of the 2022-23 season. He graduated from Marist College in May of 2022 and has written for TheKnicksWall.com and CenterFieldMarist.com in the past.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA offseason is approaching as more and more teams get bounced from the playoffs. The questions as to who will get moved in trades this summer have yet to be answered. Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram are among the biggest names who might be on new teams, though it’s far from a certainty.</p><p>The Pelicans have decisions to make with Ingram and Trey Murphy III, two wings who have contracts that are currently set to expire after next season. Ingram will turn 27 before next season and New Orleans will have to decide if it wants to shell out a big contract to keep him around.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Hawks landed the top overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. They could decide to tear down their mediocre roster and enter a full rebuild, make the draft pick to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-hawks-to-revisit-trade-discussions-involving-player-not-named-trae-young-dejounte-murray">add a new, exciting player</a> around Young or use the pick in a trade. The latter route seems to be the way they’re going, especially because tearing it all down and trading away Young may not recoup as much value as they hoped it could.</p><p>According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Pelicans wing appears to be a <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/does-trae-young-make-sense-for-the-rebuilding-spurs-and-victor-wembanyama-212313043.html" rel="noopener">bigger commodity on the trade market</a> than the Hawks guard.</p><p>Fischer writes the following: “Any team and any front office, armed with draft capital and looking to improve, from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, or New Orleans and Philadelphia, or the always star-hunting Miami Heat, will be patient with any possible approach for Young, until there’s greater clarity on someone of Mitchell’s pedigree…An unofficial poll of executives in Chicago also suggests Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram will have a wider range of teams interested in acquiring the one-time All-Star, as compared to Young, should New Orleans truly explore a roster shake-up of that magnitude.”</p><h2><b>Brandon Ingram expected to have more trade interest than Trae Young</b></h2><p>The trade market for Ingram <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/source-pelicans-brandon-ingram-trade-market-considered-mild">doesn’t appear to be bustling</a> as of right now but teams looking to make a splash have started to be mentioned as possibilities. With Young being the Hawks’ franchise player for over half of a decade now, it won’t be any easier to pry him. But if both are truly available, it’s understandable why more teams would prefer Ingram.</p><p>While Young is the superior player to Ingram, NBA teams often prioritize fit when looking to make a big trade. Ingram, a versatile wing, appears to be a better fit with more teams than Young, a small guard who commands the ball a lot. Especially because it’s so much easier to buy Ingram as someone who can impact the game on both offense and defense while allowing the stars of a new team to keep doing their thing.</p><p>Take the Philadelphia 76ers for example. Ingram slots in very well next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid on the wings. Even if Young has the playmaking talent that would make life easier for both players, the Sixers may not want to mess up the hierarchy they have with Embiid and Maxey commanding the offense together. Plus, having two smaller guards in Young and Maxey on defense would require a lot to become workable.</p><p>The Los Angeles Lakers, should they be able to retain LeBron James, might also prefer to have Ingram on the wing with James still leading the offense than trying to get Young to fit next to James. Teams looking to become better would surely target Young over Ingram but the price to pay in a trade would make them more wary.</p><p>Since the Hawks and Pelicans have so many different ways to go about building their 2024-25 rosters, they will be central to many conversations about the 2024 offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram to have bigger trade market than Trae Young

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-phase-jonas-valanciunas-out-future-plans');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans phase Jonas Valanciunas out of future plans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Pelicans-phase-Jonas-Valanciunas-out-of-future-plans.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans phase Jonas Valanciunas out of future plans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-15T13:40:18-07:00">May 15th, 1:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T05:49:53-07:00">May 16th, 5:49am</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA’s traditional big-man role has been under attack since Steph Curry stepped into the league. Perhaps it was a bit before the 2009 draft class had their names called but the four-point line (The Curry Curve, if you will) is being implemented onto practice courts by practically every team. That has led teams like the New Orleans Pelicans to phase out their dependable starting centers, to mixed results. Those tactics have left Jonas Valanciunas in the lurch going into free agency.</p><p>Sure, Willie Green’s strategies down the stretch got the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/willie-green-defensive-minded-pelicans-relieved-to-survive-nba-play-in-crucible">Pelicans to the NBA Playoffs</a> through the Play-In Tournament. Unfortunately, figuring out how Valanciunas would be used night-to-night was a fool’s bet. In the final six games, the Lithuanian’s game log read as follows under Minutes Played: 28 – 4- 21 – 33 -16 – 7.</p><p>That’s a great spread of numbers for a PowerBall ticket. It’s horrible when it comes to building a rhythm through repetitions for the postseason. The universally respected 12-year veteran started every game but sometimes barely broke a sweat. His talents deserve better and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-how-trey-murphy-iii-could-ink-223-65-million-contract-extension-offseason">Pelicans can make better use</a> of that cap space.</p><p>Valanciunas was averaging 25.5 minutes per game before the NBA All-Star break. The Pelicans were 33-22. New Orleans went <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?PerMode=PerGame&amp;SeasonSegment=Post%20All-Star&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TeamID=1610612740&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=MIN">16-11 down the stretch</a> with Valanciunas averaging 19.3 minutes a night. It’s a very simplified way to look at the season but it says something that cannot be ignored totally either. Still, Valanciunas complimented his teammates on the way out of the facility, perhaps for the last time.</p><p>However, he did not want to talk about his first venture into unrestricted free agency or a contract extension during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JyCYJKGrfE">the team’s exit interview sessions.</a></p><p>“It’s early and now I’ve got to wind down and spend some time with my family and see my kids. That’s all the focus. Then we’ll make a decision,” Valanciunas said. “…At moments we were really good. It was ups and downs, like every season, but I loved the group I played with. We did some great stuff on the court. It was memorable.”</p><h2>Jonas Valanciunas paid off in a big way for the Pelicans</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jonas-Valanciunas-looks-confused-by-the-call.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Playing through Valanciunas paid off, especially with Zion Williamson taking a back seat early and Brandon Ingram getting hurt late in the season. The Pelicans were 11-3 when he scored 18+ points and 15-4 when he grabbed 12+ rebounds. Those benchmarks were met once over the final six weeks of the season. Now Valanciunas is being mentioned as an affordable option for other Western Conference contenders by multiple local reporters.</p><p>The Athletic’s Will Guillory was <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pelicans-rumors-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram-cj-mccollum/id1249189650?i=1000655174649">clear on a podcast</a> with Mike Scotto.</p><p>“I’d be pretty surprised if he was back because of how they were treating his spot in the rotation late in the season,” Guillory stated.</p><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/doingitdodson/status/1789071378932461812">hits keep coming</a> from the well-tenured locally-born media as well. WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel also suggested the Los Angeles Lakers are a fit should James Borrego <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1790397685318537621">win that head coaching job.</a> Green, not Borrego, was making the call to go away from Valanciunas.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">As I said last week when JB was named as a candidate:</p><p>JB valued JV. Just don’t have the pull.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pelicans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pelicans</a> <a href="https://t.co/V3zxbWLYqf">https://t.co/V3zxbWLYqf</a> <a href="https://t.co/ELd5PPtP1e">https://t.co/ELd5PPtP1e</a></p><p>— Dodson, Chris Dodson (@DoingItDodson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1790419382260134348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>A big man at the five who averaged 12.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals/blocks per game in only 23.5 minutes is going to have a fairly robust market for his services. The Pelicans signaled Valanciunas was surplus to requirements though, and that conclusion by the organization was questioned after being swept out of the postseason.</p><p>“I hope I helped. You tell me,” challenged Valanciunas. “Do I help? You know, I did everything that I could to increase winning, to be a winner, to be successful. Now, you know, what people see…”</p><p>Will fans get to see Valanciunas with the Pelicans again? Probably not going by the public-facing evidence. His presence in the locker room will be missed but too many other teams will pay a higher price and make him a higher priority on offense. The recently turned 32-year-old cannot pass up that kind of opportunity at this point in his career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans phase Jonas Valanciunas out of future plans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-eyeing-5-names-possibly-replace-james-borrego');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans eyeing 5 names to possibly replace James Borrego');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-eyeing-5-names-to-possibly-replace-James-Borrego.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans eyeing 5 names to possibly replace James Borrego</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-12T18:31:31-07:00">May 12th, 6:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-12T18:31:31-07:00">May 12th, 6:31pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Executive Vice President David Griffin admitted that changes would be made to the New Orleans Pelicans roster this summer to remain competitive in the NBA’s Western Conference. That has led to the Brandon Ingram trade rumor industry ramping up to historic levels. However, the lead executive might have to team up with head coach Willie Green to get some new ideas on the coaching staff.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-star-zion-williamson-makes-promise-after-bittersweet-season">Pelicans suffered through a ‘bittersweet’</a> season according to Zion Williamson. Now comes the expected roster turnover, including a well-respected offensive mind. Associate head coach James Borrego could be off to a new project after just one year in New Orleans. The Athletic’s Sham Charania reports Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, David Adelman, and James Borrego are <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1789037891915591700">lined up to be interviewed</a> by the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports Borrego is at <a href="https://twitter.com/VinoUncorked/status/1789703263303934352">the top of the list,</a> though “There’s not a straight-line candidate for this job. There’s no obvious veteran.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Woj on the Lakers head coaching search: “There’s not a straight line candidate for this job. There’s no obvious veteran.”</p><p>This opens the door for former head coaches (Kenny Atkinson and James Borrego) or those with no experience at all (like JJ Redick).</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/QaV9N29Uqd">pic.twitter.com/QaV9N29Uqd</a></p><p>— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) <a href="https://twitter.com/LADEig/status/1789402188541800832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>There are options within the organization to move up. Ryan Pannone parlayed a stint with the Birmingham Squadron into a spot on the NBA bench before moving to the Alabama Crimson Tide. TJ Saint and Jodie Meeks helped guide the Squadron with a wildly efficient three-point heavy offensive scheme. Saint or Meeks moving up to the Pelicans would not be surprising. Mike D’Antoni is still an in-house consultant and Green just got a year of absorbing Borrego’s philosophies.</p><h2><b>Pelicans keeping an open mind moving forward</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/James-Borrego-coaches-Zion-Williamson.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>EVP David Griffin and GM Trajan Langdon send out scouts to look at coaches as well as players. Here are five names that have come up in some around-the-gym conversations over the past month. One thing to remember: This front office likes to bring in winning characters who have the rings to match.</p><p><b>Lloyd Pierce (Indiana Pacers – Lead Assistant)</b> has served under Gregg Popovich and won a gold medal. The 48-year-old logged professional minutes in Billings, Wyoming and Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a stop in Australia in between. He lost to Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs in the 2008 NBA Finals.  Peirce was the coordinator for player development under Mike Brown’s LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.</p><p>Pierce is more defensive-minded than Borrego but he was <a href="https://andscape.com/features/atlanta-hawks-coach-lloyd-pierce-has-come-a-long-way-from-that-kid-at-the-playground">in charge of playcalling</a> coming out of timeouts with the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers. He also has head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks. A bump up to an Associate HC title might be enough to lure Pierce to the Pelicans.</p><p><b>Mike Weinar (Indiana Pacers – Assistant Coach)</b> is another Hoosier State name that keeps getting mentioned as an up-and-coming offensive wizard. The then-graduate assistant was two NCAA champion rings with a Florida Gators insignia on the side (2006/2007). The now 39-year-old spent over a decade with the Mavericks, overlapping time with Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic.</p><p>Weinar has helped unlock Tyrese Haliburton’s game while developing xxxx. He has also kept Myles Turner involved just enough on offense to keep the fringe All-Star talent engaged on defense. That is exactly the kind of recipe the Pelicans will need to cook up around Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III next season.</p><p><b>Joshua Longstaff (Chicago Bulls – Assistant Coach)</b> has helped keep one of the league’s marquee franchises in the playoff mix despite a rash of injuries. The Bulls have finished with respectable offensive numbers even without Lonzo Ball being available. He spent time under Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks but got a start as a video analyst and player development coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Big 3 from 2010 to 2014.</p><p><b>Chris Quinn (Miami Heat – Assistant Coach)</b> has stepped up to serve as an interim head coach on the few occasions where Eric Spoelstra has had to miss a game. Like a pat on the back from Popovich, the Pat Riley stamp of approval is as good as it gets in this business. He is universally liked around the league and was a First-Team Big Ten selection as captain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.</p><p>Quinn played with the Heat 2006-10), Spurs (2010-11), and Cavaliers (2013) with a couple of overseas jaunts before turning to a coaching career. Heat legend Udonis Haslem’s 2022 <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/heat/miami-news/miami-heat-erik-spoelstra-out-versus-nets">compliments after that interim stint</a> just reinforce the case for bringing Quinn into New Orleans.</p><p>“When you listen to Quinny, you’re hearing Spo. It’s the same message.” Haslem said. “He has the knowledge, the experience, the relationship with the players. He has every base covered when you talk about checking the boxes to have the ability to be a successful head coach.”</p><p><b>Terry Stotts (Free Agent)</b> – Stotts has a shot to stick around and move a slot up in Milwaukee. Instead, Stotts resigned from an assistant position under Adrian Griffin. The Bucks seemed to be a poisoned well to the long-tenured, 66-year-old veteran coach so he dipped out before the regular season tipped off.</p><p>That looks like a wise move now. Stotts would have been in line to scoot over to the head coaching seat once Griffin was let go. However, getting passed over for a reportedly already meddling Doc Rivers would have been an insufferable indignity. Stotts “would be like a high school hiring an over-qualified assistant principal” according to one source. The locker room might need that kind of guidance instead of another young, player-friendly face though. Stan Van Gundy was a gruff individual but he arguably got the most out of Zion Williamson and the team.</p><p>Stotts gave Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum great offensive frameworks with the Portland Trail Blazers. Could Williamson, McCollum, and Murphy III get a bit further in the NBA Playoffs back by a top-10 defense? It might be worth a shot to find out.</p><p><b>G-League Coach Call-Up Long Shot: Jordan Sears (Texas Legends/Dallas Mavericks)</b> is one of the G-League top tacticians. He previously spent time on the staff at St. John’s as a graduate assistant. Spears was the 2018 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year with Wesleyan University but led a top-five G-League offense last season. The Legends were in the top three in both three-pointers created and made. Sears also has an NBA Finals championship ring thanks to a few years with the Milwaukee Bucks.</p><p>The Pelicans have stressed continuity over the past couple of offseason but if Borrego goes, they should be well-set in quality candidates to step in immediately.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans eyeing 5 names to possibly replace James Borrego

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-trade-could-signal-massive-trey-murphy-iii-pelicans-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade could signal massive Trey Murphy III Pelicans extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Brandon-Ingram-trade-could-signal-massive-Trey-Murphy-III-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade could signal massive Trey Murphy III Pelicans extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-10T14:19:46-07:00">May 10th, 2:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-10T14:32:37-07:00">May 10th, 2:32pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans concluded their 2023-2024 season with an ‘Irish goodbye’ in the first round of the playoffs, getting swept by Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now the Pelicans must decide who to keep and who to get rid of as they point their sails toward further horizons for next season and beyond.</p><p>Will Brandon Ingram be a part of the Zion Williamson-led Pelicans squad next season? Will Head Coach Willie Green return? These are just two of the questions New Orleans must solve, and the rumor mill has been ablaze lately with rumors on Ingram’s future status.</p><p>The latest Ingram rumors came amid word of a ‘Zion Williamson reason’ why Ingram is the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-zion-williamson-reason-brandon-ingram-most-likely-pelicans-player-traded">more likely Pelicans star</a> to be traded. Williamson also found himself on the receiving end of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-charles-barkley-zion-williamson-weight-loss-advice-offseason">weight loss advice</a> from none other than ‘The Chuckster’ himself, Sir Charles Barkley of the NBA on TNT crew.</p><p>The latest collection of rumors has Ingram likely being moved, and it all centers around a <a href="https://www.nba.com/player/1630530/trey-murphy-iii">Trey Murphy III</a> reason that makes quite a bit of sense to ardent, diehard Pelicans backers and NBA stat geek extraordinaires.</p><h2><b>Pelicans Ingram Trade Rumor Announced </b></h2><p>According to Michael Scotto and Will Guillory in a chat article on <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/pelicans-rumors-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram-cj-mccollum-trades-free-agency/">HoopsHype.com</a>, the Pelicans could move Ingram this offseason with the goal of acquiring more potential minutes for Trey Murphy III, a rising star at guard who averaged nearly 15 points per game for the Pelicans last season.</p><p>Scotto stated that some watchers believe Ingram could be dealt for the aforementioned purpose. If it happens, a Murphy III extension could come shortly afterward.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Murphy-dribble-1.jpg"><figcaption>Apr 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) dribbles against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>“With his size, 3-point shooting, and athleticism, I think he can definitely get a big number,” Guillory said about a possible Murphy III extension. “I think you want to be smart about what that means for the rest of the roster.</p><p>“I definitely don’t think he’s a max guy or anything like that, but over the $100 million mark, I think there is no question.”</p><h2><b>Murphy III’s Impact on Pelicans </b></h2><p>Murphy III was a 2021 first round pick out of the University of Virginia, who averaged 14.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He’s been forced to carry a bigger scoring load than expected due to Williamson’s myriad absences from the team, and could now be in line for a big payday.</p><p>Murphy III was fifth on the Pelicans in postseason scoring with Williamson not playing a single game. With CJ McCollum proving himself not quite ready to carry the load as the team’s top scorer, a more balanced scoring attack in the backcourt could include more shot attempts, and perhaps more money, for Murphy going forward.</p><p> </p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Brandon Ingram trade could signal massive Trey Murphy III Pelicans extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-zion-williamson-reason-brandon-ingram-most-likely-pelicans-player-traded');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: The Zion Williamson reason Brandon Ingram is ‘most likely’ Pelicans player to be traded');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-The-Zion-Williamson-reason-Brandon-Ingram-is-most-likely-Pelicans-player-to-be-traded.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: The Zion Williamson reason Brandon Ingram is ‘most likely’ Pelicans player to be traded</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-10T09:38:58-07:00">May 10th, 9:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-10T09:38:58-07:00">May 10th, 9:38am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans managed to escape the Play-In Tournament this year, but they did so without Zion Williamson, who suffered a hamstring injury in their first Play-In game against the Los Angeles Lakers. And sure enough, Brandon Ingram and company were unable to get much going against the Oklahoma City Thunder without Williamson on the floor, and they were swept out of the playoffs as a result.</p><p>After another campaign where the Pels failed to meet expectations, changes are expected to be made, and all eyes immediately shifted to Ingram, who is viewed as the team’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-not-expected-to-offer-brandon-ingram-contract-extension">top trade candidate</a> ahead of the upcoming offseason. While Ingram is a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-brandon-ingram-willie-green-shared-eye-opening-exchange">talented player</a>, it sounds like New Orleans is intent on building around Williamson, which has led to the front office’s decision to <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/pelicans-rumors-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram-cj-mccollum-trades-free-agency/" rel="noopener">explore trades</a> for Ingram.</p><p>“The Pelicans are going to build around Zion Williamson. I’m told the Pelicans recognize this roster around Zion is a little bit disjointed. I’ve heard New Orleans will seek positional upgrades to improve their spacing and not bring in someone who clogs the paint and is in Zion’s way.”</p><p>“When I talk to executives and scouts around the league about this, I remember one scout said to me, ‘The Zion you saw at the end of the season is the guy that can take the Pelicans far. They wouldn’t be able to go as far with Brandon Ingram as the focal point. Zion has to be that guy for better or worse with his injuries if New Orleans is ever going to make an eventual championship-type run. Zion has that special type of talent.’” – Michael Scotto, HoopsHype</p><h2><b>Pelicans picking Zion Williamson over Brandon Ingram</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Zion-Williamson-and-Brandon-Ingram.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>There had been a lot of concerns surrounding Williamson and his durability entering the year for New Orleans, but he managed to silence his critics with a strong campaign (22.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5 APG, 57 FG%). More importantly, he played in 70 games after having played in a total of just 114 contests over the first four seasons of his career.</p><p>That appears to have put the Pelicans at ease, as they are believed to be open to moving on from Ingram in order to truly build around Williamson. Ingram has sort of been New Orleans’ security blanket for when Williamson has struggled with injuries, but the Pels are ready to fully put their faith in the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft after seeing his play this season.</p><p>Getting rid of an All-Star caliber player like Ingram is always going to be a tough pill to swallow, but their current roster does not seem to be working (although injuries are admittedly playing a role in those struggles). Williamson has proven himself to be the superstar the Pelicans thought they were getting when they initially drafted him, and as a result, it may be time to cut ties with Ingram in order to allow Zion to reach his full potential.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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New OrleansPelicans RUMORS

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