The Hawks were considered a possible trade suitor for Brandon Ingram this offseason, but they ended up not having much interest in giving the forward his next contract or surrendering either Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu in a trade with the Pelicans, league sources tell William Guillory of The Athletic.
As a result, the Pelicans and Hawks instead made a deal involving Dejounte Murray that didn’t include Ingram or either of Atlanta’ centers. Now it’s unclear whether New Orleans will be able to find a trade partner for Ingram, who will be on an expiring contract in 2024/25.
According to Guillory, both the Pelicans and Ingram would prefer not to go into training camp without an extension, since it may become a distraction. That could mean New Orleans will be looking to complete a trade by late September, but it also doesn’t sound like a new contract for the former All-Star is out of the question. Guillory cites “some optimism within the building” that Ingram and the Pelicans could work out an extension below the max that leaves both sides happy.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Grizzlies have officially announced Taylor Jenkins‘ new-look coaching staff for the 2024/25 season (Twitter link). Anthony Carter and Patrick St. Andrews are the only returning assistants, though one newcomer (Jason March) had been coaching the Memphis Hustle, while another (Erik Schmidt) was the Grizzlies’ head video coordinator. Joe Boylan (formerly of the Timberwolves), Patrick Mutombo (from the Bucks), Tuomas Iisalo (Paris Basketball), and Noah LaRoche are the other additions. Former assistants Blake Ahearn, Brad Jones, Scoonie Penn, Sonia Raman, and Vitaly Potapenko have all been replaced, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- LJ Ellis of SpursTalk shares his thoughts on the Spurs‘ impending acquisition of Harrison Barnes, explains why he likes the fit and why he expects the veteran forward to be a starter in San Antonio. As Ellis notes, more minor roster moves will be necessary to open up enough cap room to accommodate Barnes’ incoming salary, so he’s reluctant to give his final assessment of the deal until it’s clear what those moves will be.
- As Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News points out (via Twitter), the Spurs wouldn’t have been in position to add both Barnes and Chris Paul if they had kept the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, which carried a cap hit of $6.26MM.
Aye I love Onyeka & feel that he’s very underrated. He could legit be an all-star level 5 in the very near future. That being said I would prob trade him for BI. We’d still have Clint, Jr Nance & Bruno as our 5s & that is plenty good enough. And I’d def give BI a max contract as well. Tbh my Hawks did this whole thing backwards imo. We clearly should’ve traded Trae instead of Dejounte. And I would been good with us giving up either Clint or Onyeka for BI. As it is I still like our squad, esp if Risacher can play some 2guard this season & we get Saddiq back at a good price. Looking like Jalen is gonna be our secondary playmaker, which I love. Hopefully Dice Daniels does well in Paris & comes into training camp with a lot of confidence bc I’d love to see him as our starting 2guard. Kobe Bufkin, Bogdan, Risacher, Onyeka is a nice bench rotation, but id like to see us add another vet since Saddiq won’t be ready until Feb/March
What team would actually give BI 50M?
Paul and Barnes are decent addd for 2024 but let’s not lose sight that Paul is there for one year to accelerate Wemby’s retirement and these two expiring contracts represent about $30 million of cap room for 2025 when the Spurs want to make their move. Neither is considered a long term part of their plan. Barnes could also be part of a trade sooner than people think
Million of 2025 cap
How much sooner is CP3 gonna make Wembanyama retire?