NBA Trade Rumors: Still One "Sleeper" Team in the Running for Brandon Ingram

The trade talk around New Orleans Pelicans star forward Brandon Ingram has died down in recent weeks. Due an extension this summer, the Pels are balking at the max deal that Ingram is looking for.

But as one team after another has been declared uninterested in trading for Ingram at that contract price, there's still one "sleeper" team in the running:

The Utah Jazz are a sleeper candidate for Brandon Ingram, and the Pelicans have been linked to Walker Kessler for over a year now, per @cclark_13

“The Jazz are a team NBA insiders have circled as being a potential Ingram suitor. The bigs on Utah’s roster include Walker Kessler,… pic.twitter.com/JkoO0EP9G8
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 6, 2024

“The (Utah) Jazz are a team NBA insiders have circled as being a potential Ingram suitor. The bigs on Utah’s roster include Walker Kessler, John Collins, Drew Eubanks and Kyle Filipowski. Kessler, who’s still on his rookie contract, offers rim protection, a quality Pelicans executive David Griffin has been seeking to add for more than a year," says Pelicans insider Christian Clark.

But a new report today, if a deal can't be worked out, says that the likelier possibility is that Ingram will stay in New Orleans.

"I'm told the trade market for Brandon Ingram is limited..

New Orleans wants him to stay and he wants to stay as well..

The sense around New Orleans is he's going to be there and they're fully expecting him to be part of this Pelicans team" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/SGHwYiebLk
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 6, 2024

Shams Charania reports, "I'm told the trade market for Brandon Ingram is limited... New Orleans wants him to stay and he wants to stay as well... The sense around New Orleans is he's going to be there and they're fully expecting him to be part of this Pelicans team."

That could also, of course, be a negotiating ploy planted in the media by someone in the Ingram or Pelicans camp.

Ingram posted 20.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds last season, and has a Most Improved Player award and an All-Star nod on his resume. He's averaged 23.1 points in his five seasons in New Orleans.