OKC Thunder Land New Orleans Star Forward in Fake Trade

Oklahoma City doesn’t need more star power on its roster, but the idea of ​​acquiring an elite scorer to either start or be the team’s sixth man doesn’t sound like the worst idea. In a recent mock trade, the Thunder are expected to receive the New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.

In return, the Thunder would give up a trio of young players, with guards Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort and forward Ousmane Dieng. The deal will also send a top-five protected 2027 first-round pick to New Orleans.

Ingram has spent the last six seasons with the Pelicans and has continued to show, despite his team’s success, that he is among the best scorers in the NBA. This year, he is averaging 22.2 points and 5.6 rebounds on 46.5% shooting. Throughout his nine-year professional career, Ingram has shown on a consistent basis that he can score the ball at a high level and be an effective player.

Trade rumors have swirled around Ingram for a while. Despite getting talent to surround Ingram in New Orleans, the Pelicans have struggled to win games. The Pelicans sit at 5-21 this season, good for the worst record in the Western Conference. Despite Ingram having another solid season, his team can’t find ways to win games.

Ingram’s status in New Orleans seems to have been in doubt for a while, but the teams’ lack of success could be an indicator of Ingram’s trade availability at this year’s deadline. Ingram is in the final year of his deal and will make $36 million in his final season on contract.

That makes his trade availability for OKC more intriguing. If they were to trade for him, he would have the option to leave in free agency after a short stint with the team. The Thunder aren’t actively hurting for talent, and while Ingram is a high-level all-around scorer, finding a role for him could be a challenge.

In his career, Ingram has only played under 30 minutes per game in a season once in his rookie year. That streak would certainly be in jeopardy if he were to move to the Thunder, which could steer Ingram away from a potential move to Oklahoma City. The opposite scenario would be Ingram’s potential desire to play for a struggling team. He has only been to the playoffs twice in his six years in New Orleans, both of which resulted in first-round exits.

There is a large group of players that the Thunder could add to increase its chances of winning an NBA title. There’s also an argument to be made that because of its early season success, they don’t need to make a move at the deadline. OKC is by no means a perfect team, but right now it has a formula for winning basketball games. Making a midseason trade wouldn’t necessarily disrupt that, but there’s a chance it could. The moves, or lack thereof, that Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City front office choose to make around the deadline will be something to watch as it gets closer.

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