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Brandon Ingram’s Pelicans future is as hazy as ever, and the clock is ticking

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There are solely 26 days till the New Orleans Pelicans’ first day of coaching camp, and the franchise nonetheless hasn’t answered the No. 1 query looming over the staff since July.

Will Brandon Ingram be a member of the Pelicans on opening evening?

After a summer season filled with rumors and little or no motion in precise commerce discussions, all indicators level to Ingram remaining with the Pelicans and enjoying out the ultimate 12 months of his contract.

In that case, how will Ingram reply if he has to return to the Pelicans with out the long-term extension he was in search of or a transparent understanding of his future?

Our first indication got here final week when Ingram didn’t attend a week-long voluntary minicamp held by Pelicans gamers in California, which featured each participant on the roster besides Ingram and up to date signee Daniel Theis. (Zion Williamson left early for a collection of Jordan Model occasions in China, which the Pelicans and the remainder of the gamers anticipated.)  The Pelicans believed Ingram can be there, however he by no means confirmed, in line with staff sources.

That is an occasion Ingram has organized for his teammates a number of occasions prior to now, so his absence stood out. The Pelicans hoped this minicamp can be the primary time Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum and newly acquired level guard Dejounte Murray might all get on the court docket.

A current put up on Ingram’s Instagram web page featured Houston-area pastor Keion Henderson talking in regards to the significance of “staying away from environments the place folks don’t know the true worth of you.”

Ingram hasn’t been the sort to ship subliminal photographs by way of social media, however he’s by no means been on this place, along with his staff — and nearly each different one within the NBA — indicating his worth isn’t as excessive as he believes it’s.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Brandon Ingram faces his hardest opponent: himself

Ingram and the Pelicans have made it clear that, in an ideal world, he already would have signed his extension and solidified his relationship with the group that welcomed him with open arms from the second he arrived in 2019.

However with Williamson, Murray, and McCollum already on profitable contracts for at the very least the subsequent two seasons and 24-year-old wing Trey Murphy now eligible to signal a big extension of his personal, the Pelicans have little curiosity in additionally supplying Ingram a four-year most extension price a projected $207.8 million. The choice turns into simpler for a small-market staff like New Orleans, which all the time must be cautious when giving out these big-money offers.

In the meantime, it appears clear the commerce market has dried up and there’s not a lot of an opportunity Ingram will likely be dealt earlier than the beginning of the common season. Whereas some contenders may be tempted to wager on his expertise and work out a deal later, the implications of giving him the max or near-max contract he’s searching for would put most different groups in a precarious monetary place with the brutal team-building restrictions that include having a staff wage above the second apron line. That’s additionally the principle motive the Pelicans have proven such little curiosity in giving Ingram such a deal.

Given the circumstances, the Pelicans are ready to enter the season with this precise roster and see how Williamson, Ingram, Murray, McCollum, Murphy and Herb Jones can all match collectively. New Orleans undoubtedly has probably the most gifted group of perimeter gamers within the NBA.

However there’s not a lot of an opportunity this works except Ingram is purchased in and prepared to do no matter it takes to assist the items match collectively, even when he doesn’t safe a contract extension. As a lot as his recreation has been picked aside since his struggles when the Pelicans had been swept by Oklahoma Metropolis in final season’s playoffs, his playmaking, one-on-one shot creation and dedication to filling in key gaps on each ends are qualities Murphy, McCollum and Jones haven’t proved they will present persistently. Whereas Murray’s addition supplies extra cowl if Williamson misses prolonged time with an harm, that state of affairs turns into way more palatable with Ingram additionally out there to be the No. 1 possibility on a nightly foundation.

Ingram stays a extremely regarded determine to many inside the group for his work as a pacesetter within the locker room and his previous play when Williamson wasn’t wholesome. A number of Pelicans gamers made a degree of paying their respects to Ingram throughout a time when his future with the staff stays unsure. Ingram’s twenty seventh birthday was on Monday, and some teammates confirmed him love on social media even after his no-show in California.

Ingram doesn’t should look far in his previous to see how being lower than dedicated to New Orleans due to contractual unhappiness has backfired on a couple of of his teammates.

In the summertime of 2021, Josh Hart entered restricted free company and didn’t have as many suitors as he anticipated. He begrudgingly signed a brand new cope with the Pelicans as soon as it was clear he didn’t have higher choices elsewhere, and he spent a lot of the next season quietly hoping for a commerce. It’s a subject he’s spoken about brazenly on his podcast, “The Roommates Present.”

Ultimately, the Pelicans despatched Hart to Portland within the commerce that introduced McCollum to New Orleans. He needed to play 64 video games for a foul Blazers staff over two seasons earlier than lastly getting moved to the Knicks.

One other instance is JJ Redick, who requested the Pelicans commerce him to Brooklyn or Philadelphia through the 2020-21 season so he could possibly be nearer to his household. As an alternative, New Orleans despatched him to Dallas in a trade-deadline deal, and Redick ripped the Pelicans entrance workplace on his podcast for being dishonest with him in regards to the state of affairs. Redick, now the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, performed 13 video games for the Mavericks in what ended up being the ultimate season of his enjoying profession.

The lesson in each of those incidents: Being the disgruntled worker nonetheless beneath contract can backfire on a participant. It may end up in being moved to a state of affairs that isn’t helpful or, even worse, having their worth lower as a result of they’re caught in a shedding state of affairs.

Final season was the primary time Ingram performed for a staff that received greater than 42 video games in a single season. The long run New Orleans is constructing with this present core is a big motive Ingram would like to remain long-term. He is aware of the tradition inside that locker room as a result of he helped construct it. It’s exhausting to consider he can be the one to tear it down as a result of he didn’t get the contract or commerce he needed.

Maybe Ingram will settle for his future belongs with one other staff, whether or not he’s moved earlier than the commerce deadline or has to attend till he hits unrestricted free company subsequent summer season. Even so his play on the court docket and his conduct behind the scenes might decide what number of choices can be found to him as soon as he’s free to decide on his subsequent vacation spot.

Based mostly on how this offseason has gone, it’s fairly clear that the remainder of the league doesn’t consider Ingram’s worth is as excessive as he thinks it’s. He’s probably the most gifted forwards within the league, within the prime of his profession, and he’s being handled like a man no person needs.

If that notion goes to alter, Ingram must be the one who makes it occur.

(Prime picture: Troy Taormina / Imagn)





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