The Pelicans will trade Brandon Ingram to the Raptors for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick and a second-rounder, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The first-rounder will be a top-four protected 2026 pick that originally belonged to Indiana, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The second-rounder will be the Raptors’ 2031 pick, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported earlier tonight that the Raptors and Hawks were “neck-and-neck” in their pursuit of Ingram, but Toronto found a way to get the deal done. Assuming he’s signed to an extension, the 27-year-old forward will be part of the long-term foundation in Toronto alongside Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
Ingram will be eligible for an extension worth $144MM over three years through June 30, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds that the Raptors inherit Ingram’s Bird Rights and can exceed the cap to sign him to a new deal in July when they will be roughly $50MM below the tax line.
Marks also notes (via Twitter) that Ingram’s current contract includes a 15% trade kicker that will increase his cap hit for this season from $36MM to $38.1MM.
With an expiring contract, Ingram has been on the market for months after he and the Pelicans weren’t able to agree on an extension last summer. New Orleans reportedly offered to use Ingram’s deal to help Miami facilitate a Jimmy Butler trade, then made its own offer for Butler last week.
Ingram has been sidelined with an ankle issue since December 7, and he still hasn’t been cleared for contact. He may not be able to play for a few more weeks, but that shouldn’t matter to Toronto, which is far out of the playoff race. Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the 18 games he’s played this season.
Will Guillory of the Athletic notes (via Twitter) that Ingram was on the bench with his teammates for the first half of tonight’s game at Denver, but he didn’t return after halftime, suggesting that a trade was imminent.
Brown has a $23MM expiring contract, while Olynyk has one year left at $13.4MM. It’s possible that New Orleans will explore subsequent deals involving both players before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.
Brown, 28, built a reputation as a versatile utility man on several teams, culminating with the role he played in helping the Nuggets win the 2023 title. He turned that into a lucrative two-year deal with Indiana, but was traded to Toronto midway through last season and has been limited by injuries this year. He’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17 games.
Olynyk, a 33-year-old big man, was in his first full season with Toronto after being acquired at last year’s deadline. He was putting up 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23 games.
