A massive trade proposal has a top Eastern Conference team acquiring All-Star forward Brandon Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans in a move that would make them legitimate NBA Championship contenders.
Despite emerging as one of the Pelicans’ most valuable players since coming over as part of the 2019 Anthony Davis blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brandon Ingram continues to be widely floated in trade rumors.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz proposed a blockbuster trade idea that would see the Pelicans send Ingram to the Indiana Pacers to form a new “big three” with fellow stars Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton.
In Swartz’s proposal, the 2024 Eastern Conference runner-ups would acquire Brandon Ingram in exchange for Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith:
“With the Boston Celtics winning the title, the Philadelphia 76ers signing Paul George, the New York Knicks trading for Mikal Bridges and the Orlando Magic adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Indiana may have to make another move to secure its spot among the conference’s elite…
A starting five of Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Ingram, Obi Toppin and Siakam with Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman and others off the bench is a deep and talented group in Indiana.
The Pelicans solve their starting center dilemma with Turner, an ideal fit next to Zion Williamson given his three-point shooting ability. Nesmith is a talented defender on a good contract who hit 41.9 percent of his threes last season and would be an important part of New Orleans’ rotation.”
The Pacers reached the conference finals for the first time in a decade but were swept by the powerhouse and eventual champion Celtics. As great as Halibuton and Siakam are, Indiana just didn’t have enough depth to contain Boston’s core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.
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So adding another big-time scorer like Brandon Ingram would go a long way in closing the cap with the Celtics and other top Eastern Conference teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
Brandon Ingram Could Be The Final Piece For The Pacers
If you look at the history of NBA Champions, the majority of them had a trio of All-Star players intact. Boston found their third and fourth big stars last year in Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and we saw how that turned out.
Now imagine if this prolific Pacers offense added Brandon Ingram to the mix. He’s squarely in his prime at the age of 27 and has averaged over 20 points per game in each of his five seasons on a mediocre Pelicans team.
Add Ingram to Rick Carlisle’s group, and you have a Pacers team that would be more than capable of topping the Celtics and winning the franchise’s first NBA title.
