Heading into the NBA offseason, many thought it was a given that the The New Orleans Pelicans would eventually trade star forward Brandon Ingram.
However, with the 2024-25 season fast approaching, Ingram is still on the roster and appears ready to start the season with the team.
While he remains on the roster, there has been no positive news regarding a potential contract extension that would keep him with the Pelicans. A trade still seems very possible.
With that in mind, there aren’t many teams in the league that could be legitimate trade partners for New Orleans. An Eastern Conference team could be one to watch.
Bleacher Report recently looked at three potential trade targets that would make sense for each team. As for the Detroit PistonsIngram was a name that was on the list.
“Ingram doesn’t take many three-pointers, though he’s made 1.8 per game on 37.2 percent shooting since arriving in New Orleans in 2019. New Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon is from New Orleans and knows Ingram perhaps better than any other NBA front office executive. A starting five of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ingram, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren could compete for a spot in the Eastern Play-In Tournament.”
Ingram would certainly be a good fit for the Pistons.
Upon acquiring him, Detroit would take a big step forward in the Eastern Conference. He would give them a true reference scorer alongside Cade Cunningham.
It’s been a while since the Pistons were considered a presidential contender. Perhaps management is starting to get tired of consistently finishing with a bad record and another high draft pick.
If that were indeed the case, the acquisition of Ingram would make perfect sense.
They could sign him to a long-term deal and build around the core mentioned above. Cunningham, Ingram, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren would be a young, deadly four-headed monster in the long term.
That being said, it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out for Ingram and the Pelicans. They would likely be happy to consider a trade if the right offer were made.
Detroit could well be a team to watch closely in the coming weeks.
