The NBA trade deadline has been so chaotic that Brandon Ingram's future almost became an afterthought (at least for non-Pelicans fans). Shortly after Wednesday's multi-team trade involving Jimmy Butler, attention shifted to Ingram.
The 27-year-old finally found his new home, and it's outside the United States. Yes, Ingram went from the Pelicans to the Raptors and is now with the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division. It's safe to say nobody expected Toronto (16-35) to trade for Ingram. Miami and Golden State were among the teams interested in him, which made sense.
Breaking: The New Orleans Pelicans have traded Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors for Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, one first-round pick and one second-rounder, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/tI4jo2cYhM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025
The Raptors were supposedly rebuilding, but Masai Ujiri had other plans. Since trading Pascal Siakam last year, he's preached patience. Apparently, Toronto thought acquiring Ingram was too good an opportunity to pass up. Why not replace Siakam, their old All-Star forward, with Ingram, a one-time All-Star?
Raptors shock everyone and trade for forward Brandon Ingram
Toronto has the fifth-worst record in the league and is five and a half games behind Chicago, the 10th-place team in the East. If you think the Raptors traded for Ingram to push their way into the Play-In Tournament, think again. He hasn't played in two months because of an ankle sprain. Ingram is expected to play again this season, but when that'll be is unclear.
The Raptors made this move for the future. Ingram will be an unrestricted free agent over the summer, but Ujiri wouldn't have traded for him without being confident about Toronto's chance to sign him. Pair that with a high draft pick the Raptors will get, and they'll look like a different team next season.
Toronto isn't going to catch up to New York, Cleveland, and Boston's level of play, but the Raptors will be a threat. Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl is a sneaky good starting lineup. That obviously doesn't include whoever they'll draft in June.
It will be interesting to see what Toronto's next couple of years look like. One thing fans want to see is a healthy Ingram. He's only played in 70+ games once, which was when he was a rookie. Maybe he'll be able to revive his career with the Raptors.
The Knicks won't play the Raptors again this season after going 4-0 against them, with their recent win coming on Tuesday. The next time New York plays Toronto, Ingram should be in a Raptors jersey (if he re-signs).