The 2019 trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans has become one of the most captivating deals in NBA history. Los Angeles received a future Hall of Famer and a championship with the arrival of Anthony Davis, while New Orleans has turned the assets received into one of the best paper rosters in the Association.
Unfortunately, the Pelicans have faced an unprecedented rush of injuries and are now faced with the choice of how to proceed toward a brighter future.
Within its first 11 games, New Orleans has lost Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Dejoune Murray, and Zion Williamson to injuries. It's left the team in a position of stunningly limited options as far as proven commodities are concerned.
The one exception is a player whom the Lakers are thoroughly familiar with: All-Star forward and former No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Ingram.
Ingram has appeared in all 11 games for the Pelicans in 2024-25, averaging 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.3 three-point field goals made per game. It's yet another star-caliber display from a player who has become one of the hottest commodities on the trade market in 2024.
For a Lakers team that continues to search for options to push it toward the next tier of contenders, a trade for Ingram suddenly seems more viable than ever.
If Lakers want Brandon Ingram, there may not be a better time than now
Ingram is playing through the 2024-25 season with a cloud hanging over his head. The Pelicans are reportedly unwilling to meet his asking price for a contract extension, which has thus resulted in the belief that he could be traded ahead of the deadline in February.
A pending free agent with an All-Star Game appearance and consistently strong production highlighting his quality, Ingram should have a surplus of suitors.
For the Lakers, initiating trade discussions now may be the wisest course of action. With seven different key Pelicans already battling injuries, the burden placed on Ingram to carry the team through this challenging time could prove monumental.
Two concerning possibilities are that Ingram could price himself out of the Lakers' range with his quality of play or suffer an injury due to the heavy burden he's asked to carry.
Trading for Ingram now would mean avoiding those scenarios potentially playing out. It could also enable Los Angeles to build toward the postseason with extensive time to prepare rather than attempting to figure things out on the fly in February.
The obvious question in this scenario is what the Lakers would be asked to give up in order to complete a trade for Ingram—whom the Pelicans seem to have already avoided committing to long-term.
Ingram has an expiring contract worth $36,016,200. As such, the Lakers could open negotiations with an offer of D'Angelo Russell and his expiring $18,692,307 salary, and the $17 million due to Rui Hachimura—with a minimum salary and draft compensation potentially getting the deal done.
The Lakers may opt to go a different route than the one that would lead them to Ingram, but if trading for him is a priority, there may not be a better time than now.