Brandon Ingram will go down as one of the best players to ever wear a New Orleans Pelicans’ uniform.
No, he wasn’t Chris Paul or Anthony Davis level good.
But Ingram, who was traded to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday, stamped his place onto that next tier.
If you don’t believe me, just look at the numbers.
Ingram ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in all three of the major categories.
He’s fifth in points, third in assists and 10th in rebounds.
He’s also sixth in games played, which may come as a surprise when you reflect back on how many games Ingram hasn’t played since arriving in New Orleans in 2019 as part of the Davis deal.
Of the 439 games the Pelicans have played since Ingram came to town, he’s missed 134 of them. He’s played in only 18 games this season. His last game was on Dec. 7 against Oklahoma City when he sustained a high-grade low ankle sprain.
I still remember watching Ingram being helped to the Pelicans locker room.
“That might be the last time we ever see B.I. in a Pelicans’ uniform,” I remember thinking to myself that night.
Afterall, the trade deadline was exactly two months away and Ingram was playing on an expiring contract.
Then, as Ingram’s rehab lingered on longer that expected, the Pelicans stopped giving updates on Ingram’s status.
The handwriting was on the wall at that point.
Now Ingram heads to Toronto in exchange for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first round draft pick and a second round draft pick, according to an ESPN report.
He’ll be over 2,000 miles away from New Orleans. That’s also about how far away the Pelicans (12-39) are from being playoff contenders. The Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray era never took off.
In fact, Ingram, Williamson and Murray never played a single game together. Ingram and Williamson, who both arrived in New Orleans in 2019, played just 154 games together. That equates to a little less than two full seasons together for two guys who have been teammates for 5 ½ years.
While it’s always tough for a team to lose one of its best players, you can’t blame the Pelicans for making this move. They felt the need to get something in return instead of letting Ingram sign elsewhere in free agency. The emergence of Trey Murphy, averaging 34.5 points over the last four games, surely made the decision to move on from Ingram much easier.
B.I. doesn’t just stand for Brandon Ingram. It also stands for “Business Intelligence” in this case.
Ingram’s time in New Orleans was highlighted by him winning the Most Improved Award and making an NBA All-Star game. Those should outweigh the lowlights, which include a slew of injuries and a dismal performance in last season’s playoffs when the Pelicans got swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“It’s tough,” Ingram said that night. “We always knew it was a possibility we could go home tonight. But sitting in that locker room and it’s like ‘Damn, this is our last day.’ ”
Wednesday, the eve of the trade deadline, ended up being Ingram’s last day as a Pelican. It’s a trade that feels a lot like one the Saints made in early November when they traded Marshon Lattimore. Both Ingram and Lattimore will go down as arguably the best player at their position in their team’s history. Both were plagued by injuries.
Jose Alvarado, one of Ingram’s closest friends on the team, went to social media and posted a sad face emoji moments after the news about the trade happened.
That sad face also can be worn by the Pelicans’ fans and front office, who lost one of the best players in franchise history in a career that never really showed its full potential.
