Report: Ingram Passed Up Bigger Offer from Pelicans Before Signing For Less in Toronto

It came as relatively surprising news on Tuesday when we learned that the newest Toronto Raptors star Brandon Ingram, just days after arriving, signed a three-year extension with the team ahead of his pending free agency.

Now we're hearing from insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, that Ingram cost himself some serious cash by not taking an earlier offer from the New Orleans Pelicans.

League sources tell The Stein Line that Ingram, in fact, passed on a four-year, $160 million deal from the Pelicans that would have kept him in New Orleans, meaning there was some serious money left on the proverbial table in his quest for more.

Ingram received a three-year deal worth $120 million from the Raptors, with an opt-out after the second year. The AAV is the same, with but one less guaranteed year. He had been pushing for a deal of well over $200 million.

Fischer also added that Ingram really didn't have a choice but to sign this deal offered by Toronto, as his options had he reached free agency were extremely limited.

"Ingram’s new deal with the Raptors almost certainly wouldn’t have surfaced in free agency this summer with so few teams on course to hold significant cap space and, in the end, really only two teams chasing him before last Thursday’s NBA Trade deadline: Toronto and Atlanta.”

But the one-time All-Star will be able to opt out if he so chooses at the age of 29, still young enough to earn himself another big contract, provided he's able to prove he can stay on the floor enough and play to his All-Star level.

Ingram has played in as many as 64 games in a season only once in the last eight years. He has averaged over 22 points and five assists per game over the last six seasons, shooting at a 37% rate from beyond the arc.

He joins Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett as the core going forward, with Gradey Dick as another young improving piece, and Jakob Poeltl, having a career year, in the middle.