Brandon Ingram Trade Rumors: Kings Pursuing Pelicans Star Amid Zach LaVine Buzz
June 30, 2024
The Sacramento Kings are "pursuing a trade" for New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram, Sean Cunningham reported for Sacramento's Fox40 News.
Ingram could join De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to form a new Big Three for the Kings.
This is not the first time the Kings have been tied with a major target in free agency. Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer last week identified Sacramento as the "most likely" suitor of Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto also described the Kings as a "team to potentially keep an eye on" in the bidding for Ingram.
"For now, there's only been exploratory interest from Sacramento in an Ingram pursuit," Scotto wrote Sunday.
Scotto noted that the Kings have previously offered a trade package for other potential deals that included Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes as well as the No. 13 pick that the Kings used to draft Devin Carter and future draft stock.
"With Carter now in Sacramento, who had him higher on their board than where he landed with the Kings, Sacramento can still dangle future trade picks with Huerter and Barnes to try and upgrade the team," Scotto wrote.
Moving Huerter and Barnes would allow the Pelicans to match salary in a potential trade for Ingram (h/t CapSheets' Yossi Gozlan), but it remains to be seen if a package built around those assets will be enough to convince the Pelicans to move him. New Orleans has a "steep" asking price for the NBA's former Most Improved Player, Keith Pompey reported Sunday for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game through 64 starts for the Pelicans last season.
He is heading into the final year of his current contract and will be eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $52 million per season, a maximum value that he is "unlikely" to receive from the Pelicans due to his injury history, Pompey reported.
The Kings are hoping adding a third scorer like Ingram will take them back to the playoffs after their disappointing miss in 2023-24. They snapped an NBA-record 16-season postseason drought the year prior.