Memphis Grizzlies Receive: F Brandon Ingram, C Jaxson Hayes
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: F Dillon Brooks, F Kyle Anderson, G De’Anthony Melton, UTA 2022 1st Round Pick (Top-6 Protected, via MEM), MEM 2023 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to NOP)
Because of how much he makes and because of the fact that he is the New Orleans Pelicans’ best talent, the Memphis Grizzlies are going to have to be alright with the idea of trading away some of their core talents for Brandon Ingram.
Dillon Brooks has been a key part of Memphis’ success through the years and they have been unwilling to trade him, but he would almost definitely have to be on the move to acquire Ingram because of his contract and because of his talent.
While they are just $1.6M over the salary cap this season and have plenty of room until they reach the tax line, Memphis would need to try and match Brandon Ingram’s contract as best as they can.
Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton’s contracts add up to about $18.7M combined and while Memphis could send out an extra $5.7M in contracts to make this deal work, the Pelicans are going to want Brooks to replace Ingram on the wing.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Memphis Grizzlies Are Best Team Nobody Is Talking About
Plus, if the Grizzlies were to acquire Brandon Ingram, it is hard to see where he would fit in if Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. were still around. Maybe Memphis could make things work by moving Brooks to shooting guard, Ingram to small-forward and leaving Jackson Jr. at power-forward, but it would be much smoother to just move Dillon Brooks for a better, more promising looking two-way talent.
However, there are no indications right now that the New Orleans Pelicans are wanting to move on from Brandon Ingram.
They truly believe that he and Zion Williamson could create something special, but there are a ton of questions left unanswered in New Orleans right now.
Zion has not played at all this season and has suffered another setback in his road to recovery from foot surgery, they do not have much overall talent around their All-Stars and at this point in his career, Ingram does not really need to be playing for anything but himself right now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Memphis Grizzlies Are Best Team Nobody Is Talking About
He is 24-years-old, on a long-term, high-paying contract and is getting ready to enter the best years of his career. If Brandon Ingram feels he cannot win in New Orleans moving forward, then requesting a trade out is something that he could realistically do since his trade value would be very high.
