The Athletic gave us a B for the trade

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Was this the best solution for the Pelicans? I actually think this is a pretty good haul considering what it was looking like on the Ingram trade market.

The Atlanta Hawks were rumored to be in the mix for Ingram as well, so maybe that helped create a more competitive negotiating angle for the Pelicans. Brown is a nice role player who will be a free agent this summer. Olynyk is a good backup big man signed next season for $13 million. And the first-round pick will reportedly be the 2026 pick the Raptors have from the Indiana Pacers.

That’s a good haul when you consider there was no market for Ingram for most of the last year. The Pelicans couldn’t find a team looking to accept his potential free agency and what a contract extension might have to look like. New Orleans is having a nightmare season, and the Pelicans just lost Dejounte Murray with an Achilles tendon rupture. They were already looking imbalanced as a roster if healthy when they acquired Murray to join Ingram, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Zion Williamson last summer. To remove one of those elements should help things a lot — when healthy.

The problem is we don’t expect them to be healthy for a long time. The Pelicans have had to essentially punt on this season by default because they’re at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with the Utah Jazz, and they’re hoping this will land them some good fortune when it comes to the draft. It didn’t seem like they wanted to keep Ingram long term for various reasons, at least not at his asking price. They’ve turned that into some flexibility and draft capital. That’s a solid win in a season full of losses.

Grade: B

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