Brandon Ingram’s future with the Pelicans remains uncertain and the clock is ticking

There are just 26 days left until the New Orleans Pelicans’ first day of practice and the franchise still has yet to answer the biggest question hanging over the team since July.

Will Brandon Ingram be in attendance for the Pelicans on opening night?

After a summer of rumors and little movement in actual transfer talks, all signs point to Ingram staying with the Pelicans and playing out the final year of his contract.

If so, how will Ingram react if he has to return to the Pelicans without the long-term deal he hoped for or without a clear picture of his future?

Our first clue came last week when Ingram failed to attend a week-long voluntary minicamp hosted by Pelicans players in California. Every player on the roster was there except Ingram and recently acquired Daniel Theis. (Zion Williamson left early for a series of Jordan Brand events in China that the Pelicans and other players were looking forward to.) The Pelicans thought Ingram would be there, but team sources say he never showed up.

This is an event that Ingram has hosted for his teammates several times in the past, so his absence was noticeable. The Pelicans were hoping this minicamp would be the first time that Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum and recently acquired point guard Dejounte Murray would all get on the court.

In a recent post on Ingram’s Instagram page, Houston pastor Keion Henderson spoke about the importance of “staying away from environments where people don’t know your true worth.”

Ah… the NBA is very quiet, literally nothing is happening… All transactions seem to have been done…

Oh, hi Brandon Ingram, I just posted this! photo.twitter.com/kXfNpndGZV

— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) August 30, 2024

Ingram isn’t the type to send unconscious criticism via social media, but he’s never been in this position before. His team, and indeed every other team in the NBA, has indicated that his value isn’t as high as he thinks.

GALLING DEEPER

Brandon Ingram faces his toughest opponent: himself

Ingram and the Pelicans have made it clear that in an ideal world, he would have already signed his contract extension and cemented his relationship with the organization that has welcomed him with open arms since he arrived in 2019.

But with Williamson, Murray and McCollum already under lucrative contracts for at least the next two seasons and 24-year-old wing Trey Murphy now eligible to sign a big extension to his own contract, the Pelicans have little interest in also giving Ingram a four-year max extension worth a projected $207.8 million. The decision becomes easier for a small-market team like New Orleans, which always has to be cautious when handing out such big deals.

Meanwhile, it seems clear that the trade market has dried up and that there is little chance that Ingram will be traded before the start of the regular season. While some contenders may be inclined to bet on his talent and make a deal later, the implications of giving him the max or near-max contract he is seeking would put most other teams in a precarious financial position with the brutal team-building constraints that come with a team salary above the second apron line. That is also the primary reason the Pelicans have shown so little interest in giving Ingram such a deal.

Given the circumstances, the Pelicans are prepared to enter the season with this exact roster and see how Williamson, Ingram, Murray, McCollum, Murphy and Herb Jones all fit together. New Orleans undoubtedly has one of the most talented groups of perimeter players in the NBA.

But the chances of that working are slim unless Ingram is bought off and willing to do whatever it takes to make the pieces fall into place, even if he doesn’t get a contract extension. While his game has been picked apart since his struggles as the Pelicans were blown out by Oklahoma City in last season’s playoffs, his playmaking, one-on-one shot creation and dedication to filling key holes on both ends are qualities that Murphy, McCollum and Jones can’t consistently provide. While Murray’s addition provides more cover if Williamson misses extended time with injury, that situation becomes much more palatable now that Ingram is also available to be the No. 1 option on a nightly basis.

Ingram remains a highly respected figure to many within the organization for his work as a leader in the locker room and his past play when Williamson was out of shape. Several Pelicans players made it a point to pay their respects to Ingram at a time when his future with the team remains uncertain. Ingram’s 27th birthday was on Monday, and several teammates showed him love on social media even after he didn’t show up in California.

Dejounte Murray x Brandon Ingram

Via Dejounte’s IG photo.twitter.com/oUmuuKbKMt

— Ingram Alerts (@IngramAlerts) September 2, 2024

President Wishes BI a Happy Birthday on Instagram

(Via CJ McCollum IG) photo.twitter.com/zLB4qPc9hG

— Ingram Alerts (@IngramAlerts) September 2, 2024

Ingram doesn’t have to look far into the past to see how his lesser commitment to New Orleans due to contractual dissatisfaction has backfired on some of his teammates.

In the summer of 2021, Josh Hart hit the restricted free agent market and didn’t have as many suitors as he’d expected. He reluctantly signed a new deal with the Pelicans when it became clear he didn’t have better options elsewhere, and he spent much of the following season quietly hoping for a trade. It’s a topic he’s spoken openly about on his podcast, “The Roommates Show.”

Josh Hart: “I don’t think you’ll ever hear anyone say they were excited to get traded to New Orleans.”

(via @Roommates__Toon, @spelmaker) photo.twitter.com/RUGWSPFZ1U

— LegionHoops (@LegionHoops) August 23, 2024

Ultimately, the Pelicans sent Hart to Portland in the trade that brought McCollum to New Orleans. He played 64 games for a bad Blazers team over two seasons before eventually being traded to the Knicks.

Another example is JJ Redick, who asked the Pelicans to trade him to either Brooklyn or Philadelphia during the 2020-21 season so he could be closer to his family. Instead, New Orleans sent him to Dallas in a trade deadline deal, and Redick went on to lash out at the Pelicans’ front office on his podcast for being unfair to him about the situation. Redick, now the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, played 13 games for the Mavericks in what ended up being the final season of his playing career.

The lesson from both incidents: being the disgruntled employee who is still under contract can backfire on a player. It can result in him being moved to a situation that is not favorable or, worse, his value being diminished because he is stuck in a losing situation.

Last season, Ingram played for a team that won 42+ games in a season for the first time. The future that New Orleans is building with this current core is a big reason why Ingram would rather stay long-term. He knows the culture in that locker room because he helped build it. It’s hard to believe that he would be the one to cut him down because he didn’t get the contract or trade he wanted.

Perhaps Ingram will accept that his future belongs with another team, whether he’s moved before the trade deadline or has to wait until he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. Still, his play on the field and his behavior behind the scenes could determine how many options he has once he’s free to choose his next destination.

Based on how this offseason has gone, it’s pretty clear that the rest of the league doesn’t believe Ingram’s value is as high as he thinks he is. He’s one of the most talented forwards in the league, in the prime of his career, and he’s being treated like a guy that nobody wants.

If that perception is to change, Ingram must be the one to make it happen.

(Top photo: Troy Taormina / Imagn)