Outside of handing Lauri Markkanen a massive contract extension, the Utah Jazz have been largely silent this NBA offseason. There was some Markkanen trade chatter earlier in the summer, but that was quelled the second he signed his new deal.
But can the Jazz still potentially make a move to bolster their roster?
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus sees a potential avenue.
Pincus has proposed a major three-team trade between the Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets in which Utah would land former All-Star forward Brandon Ingram from the Pelicans.
The Jazz would send out Walker Kessler, Brice Sensabaugh and a first-round draft pick and would receive Ingram and Nets big man Day’Ron Sharpe.
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Of course, Ingram is entering the final year of his deal, which could complicate matters in this potential trade. But Pincus is operating under the assumption that Ingram would agree to a contract extension with Utah as part of the package.
Pincus adds that bringing in Ingram would obviously make it more difficult for the Jazz to tank, but the long-term duo of Markkanen and Ingram would certainly be interesting.
Is Brandon Ingram worth it for the Jazz?
Ingram is coming off of a 2023-24 campaign in which he played 64 games and averaged 20.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds over 32.9 minutes per game on 49.2/35.5/80.1 shooting splits
It actually marked his lowest scoring output since the 2018-19 season, when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ingram has made one All-Star appearance in New Orleans, which came back in 2019-20 when he registered 23.8 points, 6.1 boards and 4.2 assists across 33.9 minutes a night en route to winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
However, the 27-year-old has not developed like many had hoped since then.
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Perhaps Ingram’s growth has been stunted with the Pelicans, or maybe he has already maxed out his potential. Whatever the case may be, the Duke product definitely has a very intriguing skillset that would fit very nicely alongside of Markkanen in Utah.
The catch is that Ingram is evidently looking for a max contract, and whether or not he would be worth that type of money to a rebuilding franchise is debatable.
The Jazz went 31-51 last season.
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