New Orleans Pelicans Could Be Stuck with Star Because of This Specific Reason

After trying to offload one of their stars this offseason, it seems like the New Orleans Pelicans might be stuck with him.

Feb 28, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) shoots the ball in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league ever since they drafted Zion Williamson with the first overall pick back in 2019.

Once viewed as a generational talent, the oft-injured star has been relegated to only showing flashes of greatness when he's on the court because he's missed so many games with different injury issues that have plagued his career.

Since selecting him, they've finished with a winning record in only two out of five years, have made the playoffs twice without advancing, and have had three different head coaches at the helm.

Brandon Ingram's first season with the Pelicans came that same season Williamson was drafted, and it looked like the front office landed an ascending wing player to pair alongside their star rookie when Ingram was selected to his first All-Star Game and won the Most Improved Player award when averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

After he became a restricted in 2020, New Orleans re-signed him with a five-year, $158 million contract. That deal is going to end after this upcoming season, and Ingram is looking for a contract extension.

The Pelicans, however, don't want to give him the four-year, $208 million max extension that Ingram has been searching for. They'd like to keep him, but don't want to pay him that much money.

They've been looking for a trade partner who might be interested in handing him that type of contract and can bring back players at positions of need, but there have not been a lot of takers.

William Guillory of The Athletic shares the reason why.

"In the new NBA, where almost every team lives in fear of the repercussions that come with exceeding the second apron, handing out max money to players who lack no-brainer, max-caliber production can be devastating," he writes.

That comes from the new CBA where there has been much closer to a hard cap implemented than in years past when the NBA's soft cap structure allowed teams to add multiple max contract players much easier than this current setup.

While they still operate under a soft cap and not the outright hard cap like the NFL where team's can't go over a specific number, teams are limited in what they can do under the new CBA, something that has given teams across the Association pause when it comes to handing out multiple high-priced contracts.

"Atlanta didn't have much interest in giving Ingram his next contract ... Even the handful of remaining teams that could be sensible Ingram landing spots have their own complications," Guillory reported.

Because of that, there is a growing sentiment that New Orleans is going to have Ingram on this roster heading into the upcoming season, and that they could even keep him around for longer.

The Pelicans likely aren't going to cave and hand out the max deal he's looking for, but there is some hope the two sides can work something out that is attractive for both parties.