I love Ingram. Adding that kind of length and scoring ability to this squad is a no brainier. If it cost Jalen I would consider it.
It's interesting you picked BI. I looked at the Top 20-30 players not long ago and he was the one that seemed to best fit our team/needs. However, his injury history was a giant red flag for me. He maybe obtainable given its his last year. Certainly someone to think about.
He has not played that well in the OKC series to warrant high praises and that is why I have major reservations.....I can live with his injuries.
Ingram for Green would make the team reflect the coach. A modern day 04 Pistons. Zion & Green COULD BE a champion duo. win/win
I used to like BI but seeing him get neutralized in the playoffs made me want to take a hard pass. Instead of using his IQ to utilize his length and shoot over Dort, he kept trying to dribble around or move Lu Dort which you can’t do if you’re a bean pole and he’s a football player. After a while he just gave up and conceded. Every team is going to look at that to shut him down. Don’t want a player like that .
Rockets out: D.Brooks, J.Tate Rockets in: J.Isaac, M.Thybulle Why: Add premium defenders on expiring contracts in the 2nd unit; move T.Eason into starting lineup to replace D.Brooks defense Magic out: J.Isaac, J.Ingles, 2 FRP Magic in: Z.Lavine Why: Take a chance on a recently injured All-Star perimeter player to add to a young playoff team for a injury prone premium defender and small forward vet and potentially discounted draft capital Trailblazers out: M.Thybulle Trailblazers in: J.Ingles Why: Exchange defense for shooting to help open the floor for S.Henderson Bulls out: Z.Lavine Bulls in: B.Brown, J.Tate, 2 FRP Why: Move on from Z.Lavine and get back expiring vets and 2FRP; Coby White takes over lead scoring guard Raptors out: B.Brown Raptors in: D.Brooks Why: Exchange an expiring contract for three year deal of similar positional players plus receiving player is Canadian born
Not a bad idea but if Brooks is traded next year I am certain they would start Thompson over Eason. That said I wouldn't complain if we rolled out a starting unit of FVV/ EASON / THOMPSON / SMITH / SENGUN
I dont think we move on from brooks role within this culture and defense so quickly. That said the tread parameters arent terrible, albeit Amen would start over tari imo.
Here is just a thought. Ingram would flourish if his teammates were equal to his talents. The best defensive players are keying in on him all game because the team has other ways to score. If they choose to focus on him, great we have other options
And they acquire a late 1st to get Bronnie (Bron cannot have his son be a 2nd round pick... bad for optics). Probably Moody to PHO over Podz Deandre Jordan & / or Andre Drummond Steph - Bronnie Podz - Klay (with an absolute greenlight off the bench) Lebron - Santos Durant - Jackson-Davis Jordan - Drummond
Eason at the 2? Great defense unit but concerned about offense unless Eason goes to the Kawhi Leonard camp of getting your shot off and in. The 2nd unit needs a primary playmaker and Amen is arguably the best after Sengun.
I think Ingram is the best option of those that have been mentioned. You can run the offense thru him with some degree of efficiency as he's relatively low in the turnover department and better than 2/1 assist ratio. You can play him as a 2-3 or 4 offering some serious flexibility roster / lineup wise. Imagine Amen, Cam, Ingram, Tari, Jabari and Amen gets to stay in his dunkers spot on offense with 4 shooters & Whitmore is the smallest guy on the court at 6'7". I guess it boils down to what it costs you to get him now because you could simply get him as a FA one year away ..... and you can easily open up the salary slot for him.
In one or two years there might not even be a need for Ingram if one of Tari, Cam or Amen turns into a near All Star player. Then it would be the question to acquire a Herb Jones or a Tre Murphy III.......to shore up Defense even more. Then you can release Dillon Brooks. It all depends how many games they win next year and how everyone develops.
Ingram would fit great here. Any struggles in NO are down to how their team is constructed. They have no decent perimeter creator that can break down the defense. In crunch-time their game reduces to BI trying to get a mid-range jumper, while everyone stands around. He is ok at that but not good enough to make them a winning team in the playoffs. He would be much better suited as a third option on offense; receiving the ball off the bounce, acting as a secondary playmaker, finishing with cuts. You could put him on the wing (decent at C&S 3s, can put the ball on the floor and drive), the dunker spot (long and explosive finisher), even as a Draymond-style short roller (good vision, bbiq). But he needs to have a guard next to him as a primary scoring/ball-handling option, someone like Mitchell that can both make plays for himself as well as break down the offense and pass to the wings/cutters/dunker. Combine BI with Sengun and Mitchell, and you are looking at an easy 70 points at 60+ TS%, while having 3 complementary creators and scorers that can make each other and everyone else better. He is also a very versatile defender. His length and wingspan make him a great fit next to Sengun. A forward duo of BI and one of Eason/Amen would wreck havoc.
I like Ingram. I would even do you one better and say I think he could be the #2 option on a contender, or something like #2B alongside another equally-good second option type. He is clearly a better player than Mikal Bridges when healthy. And he'd be a better fit here than most of the options people suggest, who are too old, too ball-dominant, or both. At least Ingram is only 26. Only problem is, he has struggled with injuries throughout his career and has never once since his rookie year sniffed playing a full season of basketball--this was actually his healthiest season since then at 64 games played. Best ability is availability and all that. Other issue is I expect the cost would be very high. If we traded for him, anticipate parting with at least one of the young core plus multiple Brooklyn picks. I don't see any realistic path to acquiring both him and Mitchell (nor would I want Mitchell).
Big game hunting or bust. Not interested in incremental upgrades. I believe the kids, as soon as next year but over next 3-5 years, can provide the incremental upgrade. “Hey, we made the playoffs.” “Hey, we won a first round series.” Some obviously more long shots than others. Team might have to flame out and/or player request out. (Not counting upcoming free agents like Harden, Paul George, LeBron, DeRozan, etc.) Send the farm! Luka Doncic Giannis Antetokounmpo Devin Booker Still good, will be 36, hasn’t won outside of Golden State Kevin Durant Somewhere between the top guys and guys below Jaylen Brown These guys don’t suck but if they’re your best player, how far are you really gonna go? We’ve seen them, for the most part, as the lead guy. Limited success. Yes, they can probably get you to the playoffs and maybe win a round. Karl Anthony Towns (how cheap will Glen Taylor or Lore/Rodriguez be?) Trae Young Donovan Mitchell Lauri Markkanen Brandon Ingram Mikal Bridges Dejounte Murray Damaged goods/bad contracts. Not trading for unless it’s bad contract-for-bad contract. (Which fortunately the Rockets don’t really have. Some may say Brooks.) Zach Lavine Bradley Beal Injury prone/not dependable (don’t care how alluring or tempting it is). Bad enough to miss the 10-20 regular season games they miss, they’re missing playoff games as well. Kawhi Leonard Joel Embiid Zion Williamson I’m probably having to trade one of the core six guys AND the Brooklyn picks for…??? A perpetual first round exit? Like to become the current Cavs? They aren’t flush with assets. When and if once they deal the Brooklyn picks, they’re gonna have to trade from the core six and/or start dealing their 2030s picks. Am I being picky? Hell yeah I am!
We could use our own picks in 2025/27/29 plus FVV for Ingram, and Green, Brooks plus the 4 BKN picks/swaps for Mitchell. Both will be in their last contract year. Whether that’s enough or is good value for us is subjective.
an absolute HELL NO to ingram, he's just a guy and he will be paid insane money. Mitchell is different, if we could get him and he resigned i would consider it strongly
I might look to target one of the Atlanta guards (Trae or Dejounte, especially the latter), given our team's lack of playmaking smarts. Murray was pretty effective with Trae out, showing how much they overlap (with Murray not being an American Horror Story on defense like Trae). Maybe even get Capela in the deal, especially if Trae is the player received (I guess in this case our Kiwi would never play for us).
