5 Orlando Magic trade targets from teams that fell short in the playoffs

5 Orlando Magic trade targets from teams that fell short in the Playoffs

5. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans

The juiciest item involving the Orlando Magic, which has at least some backing in the betting market, involves New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. It is something that everyone is at least exploring to some extent.

Or it is good offseason fodder.

The Pelicans are in an interesting spot. When they are fully healthy, they are as interesting as any team in the league. They defend well and have great perimeter scorers and a unique bulldozer in Zion Williamson. Not to mention excellent defenders.

But Ingram has struggled to stay healthy. His knee injury suffered in Orlando in late March derailed him before the playoffs. He appeared in only 64 games last year—a high for him since his rookie year when he played in 69.

When Ingram is healthy, though, he is one of the most dynamic mid-range scorers in the league with a shot profile befitting of a star. He averaged 20.8 points per game last year with 5.7 assists per game. He had shooting splits of 49.2/35.5/80.1.

It is easy to see why there is some attraction to the idea of Ingram. And the Pelicans seem eager to clear some space to let Herb Jones and Trey Murphy get more playing time. Ingram seems very much on the market.

Pelicans fans are asking for a king's ransom for him at the moment. Locked On Pelicans pitched a trade offer that included Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony, and a first-round pick to get the deal done.

This is the kind of a deal that feels more like the Pelicans picking and choosing what they want from the Magic's roster and the Magic going all out to acquire a star to add to the roster. Never mind that Brandon Ingram plays forward and duplicates what the Magic have in Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero with an unclear ability to complement what they do.

This kind of deal actually increases the salary on the Pelicans' side, too. So this is a roundabout way to dump some salary and free up $6 million for the Magic.

Ingram has one year left on his contract at $36 million. The Magic can absorb a lot of that into their empty cap space if that is the direction they want to go.

But the interest in Ingram has always been strange. It felt like the betting markets were more interested in believing the Magic would be swinging wildly for a star. It would be hard to see them giving up on Jonathan Isaac after such a strong season. If they did give up Isaac, it feels like the Magic would want him to be the featured player in the deal.

Ingram is probably not the right guy for this Magic team to target considering his injury history and position on the floor. He does not fit the clear needs the Magic have on the roster and would simply be a name.