Assessment of Brandon Ingram -Handel: Raptors get a talent but the move raises questions about their plan

A terribly busy busy Wednesday in NBA Snow a bigger move in before the clock hit midnight in front of Thursday’s at. 15.00 One-trading deadline, with New Orleans Pelicans, who allegedly acts Brandon Ingram to Toronto Raptors in a deal that ends All-Star Fremad’s office in Louisiana after five and a half season-and puts some pretty interesting decisions coming summer.

ESPNS Shams Charania reports Raptors receive Ingram in exchange for guard Bruce Brown Jr., Center Kelly Olynyk, a first round pick and another round pick. According to Blake Murphy from Sports NetworkThe first round is Indiana Pacers’ top-four protected 2026 elections that accompanied Brown to Toronto in last year’s Pascal Siakam Deal; His colleague Michael Grange reports That the second round comes in 2031.

Let’s judge the trade from each team’s perspective that starts north of the border:

Toronto Raptors: F.

Team President Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster reportedly entered into the deadline for intent Adding “a significant piece” To start Raptors’ budding reconstruction, with an eye to stop the franchise’s ongoing decline since the NBA championship in 2019 and speed up its climb out of the East’s basement. (Raptors sit at 16-35, in 13th place at the conference, after Wednesday’s blow-up loss to Grizzlies.) This search landed on Ingram, a Spiderery Swingman with an All-Star Nikk under his belt and a smooth offensive game that Reported Left Ujiri “fascinated” as a potential supplement to playmaking by the All-Star Wing Scottie Barnes.

As a pure talent game, there is much to like about Ingram, a gifted scoring all -round and improved facilitator that has an average of 23 points on 47/37/85 shooting divisions, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per year. Match During the past five seasons. There is The reasons why he spent most of the last year on the trade block.

He proved a shaking fit along with a jumbo point forward with an unstable exterior shot in Zion Williamson, who could breed his head again with Barnes. A manifestation of the FIT questions: the half-track distance load, often due to Ingram’s preference for working in midrange rather than turning up his 3-point volume despite strong recording numbers from the outside.

Ingram’s defensive effort has always left something to be desired when on the field, considering his 6-foot-8 frame, 7-foot-3 wing spans and fast feet. He has spent a great deal of time off The court, which was missing 115 matches in the last four seasons – and counts. (A high ankle sprain has kept Ingram on the shelf in the last two months … and given Toronto has NBA’s fifth-worst record and thus a 42.1% chance at a top-four choice in 2025 NBA draftMaybe to give him a little more time to rest up, wouldn’t be the worst in the world.)

It all adds a very good but not big player — an occasional fringe all-star rather than a consistent all-nba candidate — as is a Pretty difficult type plays to build around under the new collective negotiation agreement. That led to a difference of opinion between Ingram, which is in the last year of the five-year maximum extension he signed in 2020, and pelicans who have never in their history paid the luxury tax (and who dipped under the tax earlier Wednesday by shopping for reserve center Daniel Theis to Oklahoma City), over what his next Contract should look like.

It is now Toronto’s problem to solve and with Barnes’ maximum sale of maximum sales slightly under 80 million dollars Next season, a potential thorns. Ingram is Reportedly excited about the prospect of a new start in Toronto; However, it is wondered if a re -signed Ingram and Barrett would prove duplicative, which puts raptors in a position where they had to try to turn RJ to better balance the guard schedule.

Ingram’s eligible for an extension of up to three additional years and $ 144 million Right now, if Ujiri and Webster will go that route; If not, Raptors now have his bird rights so they can go over the payroll to keep him when he hits unlimited free agency in July. Getting out of the $ 13.4 million caused by Olynyk next season creates some more vrigrum under the luxury tax line for Toronto to keep Ingram around … but it still puts raptors in line to feed a terrible steep bill for a start Five that looks something bad fitting, light on shooting, shaking defensively and maybe not Dramatic Closer to Ujiris stated goal of getting Raptors back into the mixture of consistent claim.

“Sport is only about winning and nobody is interested in anything if you don’t win,” ujiri told journalists Last summer. “You’re irrelevant.”

Adding a talent like Ingram nudges the needle a smid. Whether it does enough to justify the foreclosure of capital in the middle of what felt like a reconstruction of early stage, dog-and enough to be worth paying the 27-year-old well north of $ 40 million a year for the privilege- I’m not that sure.

New Orleans Pelicans: B

If you trade with a star, you would like to get away with wage relief, draft capital and projectable young talent. Well, two out of three are not bad.

Brown’s expiry contract will wipe out $ 23 million from Pelicans’ books will come the end of the season. Olynyk’s minutes and production has subsided in its 13th season, but the 33-year-old is still a tough passer proof a useful floor braid for Williamson for now, and whose contract of $ 13.4 million for next season could serve as either matching salary in a other transaction or other source of cost savings when it expires in 2026.

The slightly protected Indiana first and far -reaching other helps to refill the draft boxes after New Orleans sent two first summer to Dejointe Murray, who is out in the season after breaking his right Achilles late. And moving Ingram before he could return from the ankle sprain, could help the damaged pelicans-now 12-39, died at the end of the West, with the second worst record in the NBA-Agreement accidentally becoming competitive enough to win more Play down the stretch would be advisable from a ping-pong-ball perspective.

The main advantage of the Pelicans is perhaps to clear the path of Trey Murphy III to officially cement the elevated role in Pelicans ‘hierarchy, which he rises up to the midst of New Orleans’ many injuries.

The fourth year ahead is in the middle of a breakout season, an average of 22.6 points, 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per year. Fight, shoots 58% on 2-Pointers, 38.2% on more than eight 3-point trials per year. Battle and 89% from the bad line. The set largely as a floor braids early in his career, Murphy has flourished in a Bona Fide All-Court scorer that is not only able to produce as a # 1 option, but does so on a modernized shot diet , hovering more nicely with Williamson than Ingram’s did everywhere their full and limited partnership.

With its four-year extension of $ 112 million, which was set to kick next season, the pelicans were needed to prioritize Murphy as a fixture in the starting lineup and offensive pecking order. Going on from Ingram makes it easier and enables New Orleans to build around a core of Murphy, Williamson, Murray, Defensive Ace Herb Jones, Rookie Center Yves Missi and a high lottery selection in this loaded 2025 draft. It is a pretty solid starting point for a return to autumn period, whose fur can finally get the benefit of a good injury luck. It has to happen one Of these years … right?