The San Antonio Spurs are heading into this offseason with rumors circulating about whether the franchise will speed up their rebuild and trade for a superstar to pair with Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama, who averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game on 46.5 percent shooting in his rookie season, looks like a future star in the making -- if he hasn't already arrived.
On the other hand, the New Orleans Pelicans may be looking to trade Brandon Ingram with the franchise favoring Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum over the young wing. Ingram is coming off arguably his worst season with the Pelicans as he averaged 20.8 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game on 49.2 percent shooting. Additionally, the former Laker is a free agent next offseason and will likely command a new max contract from some team in the league.
New Orleans is coming off a season where they were unable to advance past the first round of the playoffs. This is something that they have yet to do in the Zion Williamson era with a big reason being that the franchise has never had the proper ball-handling play.
As both teams try to address their issues, one NBA insider suggested a trade where teams make a move to solve their corresponding issues.
Bobby Marks of ESPN ($) suggested a trade that sends Ingram to the Spurs in return for a collection of draft picks and veterans.
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In return for receiving Ingram, the Spurs would be trading Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, a 2025 first-round pick (via the Bulls, protected No. 1-8), and a 2027 first-round pick (via Atlanta and No. 1-5 protected). If this proposed trade went through, this would likely be a steal for the Spurs as the franchise will only need to give two draft picks for a veteran who can be an All-Star level player on any given day.
Yes, Ingram only has one All-Star nod to his name but, with the Western Conference being what it is, it's reasonable to say that the wing could have a couple more All-Star nods to his name if he played in the Eastern Conference. In addition to only giving up two first-round picks for Ingram, the Spurs would also get rid of two contracts that aren't exactly fair value for the players in question.
Johnson, who is currently on year one of a four-year, $84 million contract extension, has fallen a bit more back to earth after his 22-point-per-game season a year ago. This year, Johnson went back to his averaging 15.7 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting as the Spurs had an actual worthy first option in Victor Wembanyama.
Collins can still likely be a solid backup option on a playoff franchise after overcoming extreme ankle issues with Portland but the big man is likely not a starting-level center on a playoff team in a loaded Western Conference.
While this trade is great for the Spurs, this proposed trade is more like a triple instead of a home run since Ingram isn't a great ball-distributor and can likely only be the second-best veteran on a championship-winning squad. For the Pelicans, this trade is pretty bad since the franchise is unable to land the ball distributor that the franchise is currently lacking.
Even though no haul for Ingram will be perfect, New Orleans can likely find a partner where they are able to land a starting-level point guard in return for Ingram. While the squad will likely need this ball-handler to be serviceable on both ends of the court, it's reasonable to expect that the Pelicans can find their point guard for the next two to three years in a deal for the wing.
Johnson, who can be good on the offensive end at times, will likely need a lot more development if the franchise can turn him into a respectful two-way player who can play backup minutes. On the bright side, Collins will likely be a top veteran backup option for the Pelicans and be viewed as such if things go well for him in New Orleans.
Yes, those two possible late-lottery picks could end up being picks that the squad moves in a future deal but the Pelicans are still lacking the biggest thing they were last season after this deal. With all of this in mind, it's hard to not give the Pelicans an average-at-best grade for this proposed trade. On the other hand, the Spurs are coming out of here with a great grade that could be a little better if Ingram can reach all-star nods in a tough Western Conference.
Spurs Grade: B+ | Pelicans Grade: C
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