NBA Mock Trade: Rockets Add Pelicans’ Star Scorer

In this trade, Houston adds a one-time All-Star on the wing from New Orleans.
Dec 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;  New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts to making a three point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the first half  at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Dec 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts to making a three point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

For now, the Houston Rockets remain the No. 2 team in the West, coming on as one of the surprise squads in the entire NBA.

Jalen Green has still seen up-and-down scoring outputs, but the highs feel higher and have stuck around more than past seasons. Alperen Sengun remains a centrifugal facilitator and elite scorer. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks continue to offer a two-way presence as veterans. And players like Amen Thompson and Tari Eason have emerged as defensive forces.

Still, with so much young and unproven talent, the team could stand to upgrade by consolidating some of its pieces on the trade market. As it stands now, the Rockets could clearly use an offensive talent on the wing capable of knocking down outside shots and creating on their own.

There are few of those talents in the league — and even less actually available for trade. Here, we’ll look to get a deal done between Houston and New Orleans:

Houston Rockets get: Brandon Ingram

New Orleans Pelicans get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, 2025 Rockets FRP, 2027 Suns FRP

This deal is centered around getting the Rockets a star-level scorer in Ingram, and helping the Pelicans to offload him with a nice mix of win-now and future assets. As it stand now, Ingram has been out since early December due to injury. There's not yet a timetable for his return, but he hasn't been ruled out for the season.

To first address Ingram’s fit with Houston, he would likely immediately be the best and most proven scorer on the team, averaging 19.5 points on 47% shooting for his career, just two seasons ago topping out at nearly 25. With Brooks gone, he slots in perfectly at the three, adding perimeter shooting, shot-creating and high-level shot-making with some play-making intertwined. 

Houston is climbing in a variety of offensive marks as it stands now, but Ingram would help plenty more.

The Pelicans get a defensive-minded wing in Brooks, who they could flip for more value, or eventually slot in next to its competitive core of Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and more. 

The crown piece of this deal for New Orleans is Reed Sheppard, Houston’s rookie selected at No. 3 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. He’s yet to come on as a contributor for the Rockets, but shows promise as an eventually two-way guard who can shoot the lights out and play-make on both ends.

Even more, the Pelicans make it out with an extra 2025 draft pick to use at their disposal — a draft they’ll likely want flexibility in — and a highly-valuable Suns first round pick in 2027.

If either team feels this is too lopsided one way or the other, the picks could be adjusted. In all likelihood, this is probably more than Houston wants to offer considering Ingram is in the last year of his deal. Should that be the case, the Suns pick could be withheld.


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Derek Parker
DEREK PARKER

Derek Parker covers the National Basketball Association, and has brought On SI five seasons of coverage across several different teams. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2020, and has experience working in print, video and radio.