Potential Nets Trade Target Skips Voluntary Team Minicamp

There reportedly hasn't been much of a market for the 27-year-old.

Oct 19, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward Royce O'Neale (00) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the brightest collections of young talent across the entire NBA landscape, and that may play right into the hands of the Brooklyn Nets. Due to the potential of Trey Murphy signing a massive extension on top of the lucrative contracts already handed out to Zion Williamson, C.J. McCollum and Dejounte Murray, All-Star forward Brandon Ingram may be forced out of New Orleans.

Just over a month away from the regular season, the franchise-player relationship isn't looking good. Per William Guillory of The Athletic, Ingram has skipped out on the team's annual voluntary minicamp. The kicker here is in past years, Ingram was the one to organize said camp. Guillory added that the Pelicans have made mutliple attempts to move the 27-year-old with no avail, as rival teams don't seem interested.

This is where Brooklyn could swoop in to collect even more draft capital than they already have so far this summer. If Ingram continues to push his way out of New Orleans, the Nets could opt to take on his $36 million cap hit for 2024-25 and let him walk at the conclusion of next season.

All of the masterminds operate their rebuilds in this format. Take on bloated contracts while receiving great compensation in return. The Nets themselves have even followed this blueprint before, when they took on Timofey Mozgov's ridiculous contract from the Lakers, but added D'Angelo Russell in the process.

Brooklyn seems content at the moment in terms of blockbuster trades, but this is certainly a situation to monitor as the regular season draws near.

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