Eastern Conference Team Urged to Avoid Trading for New Orleans Pelicans Star

The worst team in the NBA is urged to avoid trading for the New Orleans Pelicans All-Star.

Apr 21, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts to an offensive foul call against him on a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans have some issues they need to fix before the 2024-25 season starts. Ingram has been the subject of trade rumors for much of the past few months, and if he doesn't get moved, there could be some strange vibes in the building.

The issue in a trade involving the one-time All-Star is that there needs to be a player who returns to the Pelicans and could make an impact for them. Everything has indicated that they're looking for a center, but what team wants to move their starting center for Ingram?

Would the Milwaukee Bucks be comfortable moving Brook Lopez in a package to land Ingram? Does New Orleans want to take a chance on Nikola Vucevic? There aren't many centers that can stretch the floor, and if there are, they're either on contending teams or come with other issues.

If Ingram does get moved, there's a good chance that whoever lands him is prepared to give him the contract he's looking for. The problem is that, due to the new second apron rules, there aren't many teams that can pay him.

One team that could show interest in Ingram to try to get out of a dark time is the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are the worst team in the NBA, so it's tough to say that he'd want to play there, but money talks.

However, Aaron Kellerstrass of FanSided believes that Detroit needs to avoid the Pelicans star.

"On the right deal, I’d love Ingram, but he is looking for a max contract extension and he just hasn’t done enough or been on the court enough to warrant paying that much. 

"Ingram falls into that borderline All-Star category of guys you don’t want to overpay, much like LaVine, a very good player with flaws who won’t give you value for money because of the number of games he misses."

Kellerstrass' thinking is fair, as he doesn't want the Pistons to hand out a contract for a good player who might be a bit overpaid. There are many contracts like that in the NBA, as players are being paid more than ever.

From Detroit's perspective, they aren't in a position to win now, so they don't have to make a move that doesn't guarantee them a superstar if they don't want to. While Ingram would better their roster, it might be best for them to keep their assets until a perfect player becomes available.