Raptors hope Brandon Ingram has ‘long stay in Toronto’

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Raptors see Brandon Ingram as a long -term fit and pushes back on the story that the team’s reconstruction is anything but over.

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Although the NBA’s trading deadline came and went at 1 p.m. 15 a Thursday, it took almost eight hours for the deal to do so through the league’s trading plug, largely thanks to treating the complicated, multi-team Jimmy Butler Blockbuster, which included Toronto Sending Guard Davion Mitchell to Miami.

But the big one for Raptors officially brought Ingram north of the New Orleans Pelicans border in exchange for Wing Bruce Brown, Canadian big man Kelly Olynyk, 2026 drafted to the first round, previously acquired from Indiana in Pascal Siakam trade (the election is Top-4 protected) and Toronto’s own 2031 Second round draft election.

“We see Brandon as an integral part of this team’s future – he is an elite scorer, he has a truly different offensive skill set, and adding him to the young core we have is huge when we continue our quest to win in Toronto, ”Raptors Vice -Chairman and President Masai Ujiri said in a release. “At the same time we welcome Brandon, we really have to thank Bruce and Kelly. They have been professionals and leaders, and they have been good teammates and examples for all of us. We wish them all the best that goes on. “

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The franchise believes that Ingram is young enough to fit long -term with franchisee Scottie Barnes (23), Point Guard Immanuel Quickley (25), RJ Barrett (24) and the team’s promising young people, nor do not think his arrival means the reconstruction it began, When Fred Vanvleet left as a free agent and accelerated when and Anunoby and Pascal Siakam were treated last season, has not already ended.

“Great day for Raptor’s reconstruction,” said Raptor General Manager Bobby Webster on the team’s practice facility. “I think we achieved a number of things. In the short term, we created some opportunities for our young players to play much more. I think people have seen over the past few weeks, see them start developing chemistry. I think that’s really what we prioritize the rest of this season, ”Webster said.

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Ingram has been out since December 7 with an ankle injury and it is unclear when he can play. The team begins a three-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Friday, and Ingram joins them on the trip to meet and consult with Toronto’s medical staff.

Webster said that Raptors were getting younger moving two of his older statesman in Olynyk and Brown, and intending to make a fair deal with Ingram.

“We are also in the unique position where we are justified to have expansion speeches with him, so we look forward to them with him and hope to unlock him so he has a long stay in Toronto,” webster said.

“Brandon is a player we followed for a long time. Of course, he was a very declared amateur player. Participated in Duke University, number two elections. All accolades, you know, we think a new start in Toronto would really be a spark in his career.

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“As for Brandon, he is still early in his career, so I was careful to read too much for a kind of long -lasting game next season, I think it’s still a reconstruction,” webster maintained. “I think it takes time for the players to get together. It takes time for them to rise. So I think we look forward to getting to know Brandon. We don’t know him as a person. We know him as a player long -way, but this will be a great platform for him to kind of get to know the players, get to know the coaches, get to know Toronto. We look forward to it. “

Webster believes that Ingram will be a nice addition to Barnes because of his skill and shot. The team also doesn’t seem too concerned about Ingram’s long injury history. In fact, in some ways like Kawhi Leonard agreement, the story undoubtedly played to Toronto’s advantage here.

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“If you think of the deal on your own, I think we want it to be compared to some of the other offers in the market for similar type of players (Ingram has an average of 23 points in the last six seasons, has made one All-Star team and won an NBA Most Improved Player Award), we got a pretty good deal, kind of relatively speaking. “So maybe some of (injury history and risk) are baked into it. We also have a decent sense of where he wants to go with an expansion. So from a value game, whether it is fair to him or not, I think some of it is baked in this deal, ”Webster said.

Raptors insist that the target remains the same. Continue to let the young players learn and get valuable experience for the rest of this season, maybe also see Ingram on the field a little, but come back next season much stronger with another core test potential top 10 chooses this season and move the extra from Pacers . It makes sense as it is the best chance that the franchise has to add another player with a similar talent level as Barnes. They have never signed any of that caliber via free agency or one of Ingrams. It’s another way to look at the go. There are risks, but it’s not like scoring like Ingram that easily finds its way to Toronto.

Time shows if it was the right call.

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