New Orleans Pelicans May Have Lost Brandon Ingram Trade Partner With Utah Jazz Injury

A trade between the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz centered on Brandon Ingram seems even less likely after an unfortunate injury.

Nov 25, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) dribbles the ball around Utah Jazz guard Talen Horton-Tucker (5) during the second half at Delta Center. / Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

Throughout the summer, one of the biggest storylines in the NBA was what the future would hold for New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.

Seeking a lucrative contract extension, which the team was unwilling to give him, trade rumors swirled. It felt like a matter of when, not if, the former No. 2 pick would be on the move.

Ingram was no longer a fit for their long-term plans, which sparked the speculation. While plenty of trade ideas were shared, nothing came to fruition as the Pelicans seemed intent on holding him on the roster through the start of the regular season.

That ended up being a good thing, as the injury to Trey Murphy in training camp and Dejounte Murray in the season opener has left the team bereft of wing depth and playmakers for the offense.

Once the team is healthy on the perimeter again, trade rumors are likely to pick up. New Orleans would benefit from balancing out their roster and finding a more established player at center so that too much isn’t put on the plate of rookie Yves Missi.

One of the teams who were mentioned as a potential trade suitor for Ingram was the Utah Jazz. Alas, you can almost certainly cross them off the list at this point because of a devastating injury that occurred on Monday night.

While playing against the Dallas Mavericks in what ended up being a 110-102 loss, forward Taylor Hendricks suffered a gruesome fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle.

"That's hard to stomach," Hardy said of Hendricks' injury, via Tim Macmahon of ESPN. "He's put in a lot of hard work. He's a great kid, and so we're really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping him up, his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery. But these are the moments in sports that suck."

Halfway through the third quarter, the 2023 first-round pick out of Central Florida collapsed to the floor despite there being no contact. A stretcher was brought out immediately and he was placed in a protective boot.

With his season over, the Jazz’s starting lineup and rotation are going to change. John Collins could take over the starting power forward role again, which likely takes the Jazz out of the Ingram sweepstakes.

The framework of mock trades between the two teams involved Collins and Walker Kessler heading to New Orleans in exchange for the former All-Star forward. Parting ways with two frontcourt pieces following the injury to Hendricks seems unlikely.

The Pelicans will have to look elsewhere if they ultimately decide trading Ingram is the way to go. There are other teams who could certainly emerge as trade suitors depending on how the 2024-25 campaign unfolds over the next few weeks.