One-time All-Star Brandon Ingram is in the final year of his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Ingram is extension-eligible through the end of June for up to next season's projected max of $46.4 million.
With the Pelicans' history of avoiding luxury taxes and Trey Murphy III also expecting an extension, momentum for an Ingram deal in New Orleans appears to have stalled. The prospect of dumping Ingram's contract on another team in a trade for future considerations might solve some of New Orleans' financial concerns, but how can the Pelicans simultaneously improve (or, at minimum, not diminish) their postseason playoff aspirations? Enter the Utah Jazz, a team that needs to add high-level talent alongside recently extended All-Star Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz are not in a rush to compete, but they're one of the few teams with the flexibility to take advantage of the Pelicans' fiscal constraints.
To make it all work, the Brooklyn Nets are rebuilding. Adding draft capital and a young player while reshuffling the deck, the Nets are the key to the following multi-team trade: Jazz get: Pelicans get: Nets get: The Jazz just renegotiated and extended Markkanen to a total of $238 million over five seasons. Due to a six-month trade restriction, Markkanen cannot be dealt this season.
Utah's focus may be more on development and the 2025 draft, with the potential of landing a player like Duke's Cooper Flagg. The Jazz owe their own first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder with top-10 protection. The cost for Ingram is a first-round pick.
Still, it's the higher selection from the Cavaliers (No. 20 in 2024) and Timberwolves (No. 27)—assuming both finish the 2024-25 campaign with similar results, the Jazz would give up No.
20 and a young center in Kessler. Per multiple sources, Utah has discussed Kessler previously in trade, including a stalled conversation with the New York Knicks. He doesn't seem part of the team's long-term plan, and the Jazz get a replacement in Sharpe from the Nets.
Sharpe, who played 15.1 minutes last season backing up Nic Claxton in Brooklyn, is extension-eligible until the start of the summer or will be restricted in 2025. Getting him on an economic contract before the season is a potential bonus in the deal for the Jazz.
The working assumption is that Utah and Ingram agree to an extension (immediately or after six months for a longer deal). The Jazz also give up Brice Sensabaugh, the No. 28 pick in 2023, but they may have too many young players to develop all at once—also why letting go of one of their three picks in 2025 for Ingram makes sense.
Adding Ingram could endanger the Jazz's "tank" position, and the team may prefer to do this deal closer to the trade deadline after the race to the bottom has been more readily secured. But waiting generates its own risk; Markkanen and Ingram may not mind taking a mulligan 2024-25 season if they're both locked in on long-term contracts. The Pelicans project to pay about $2.
5 million in luxury taxes this season. Similarly, the team started last year over the tax but made a deadline deal to get out of Kira Lewis Jr. to get under the threshold.
After trading for Dejounte Murray earlier this summer, and with the expensive salaries of Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum, the Pelicans probably need to choose between Ingram and Murphy. Another path is to get out of McCollum's $30.7 million obligation for 2025-26, but some insiders believe McCollum remains well-loved within the New Orleans front office.
If Ingram is expecting closer to a max salary and Murphy is seeking in the $30 million range, Brooklyn's Cameron Johnson may be a healthy alternative. His base salary averages $21.8 million over the next three seasons, and he has $4.
4 million of unlikely incentives. Johnson (39.2 percent from three over his career) provides the Pelicans with needed shooting on the wing.
New Orleans also adds a young economic center in Kessler to help replace the departed Jonas Valančiūnas, who was sent via a sign-and-trade to the Washington Wizards in July. Kessler will earn $7.9 million over the next two seasons.
The Pelicans may have an eye on draft compensation for Ingram, but his contract size and extension demands may make that unrealistic. Instead, the team gets two starting-capable players in Johnson and Kessler. Finally, the $13.
5 million trade exception generated for Ingram can help future flexibility. For the Nets, the trade is about turning Johnson and Sharpe into a first-round pick. While Johnson (6'8") fills a need in New Orleans, he may not be as big a draw for others.
The Nets can hold out for a greater return, but Johnson's unlikely incentives make him a difficult get for teams with apron issues under the NBA's complex collective bargaining agreement. Johnson was drafted in 2019 but is already 28 and has a spotty track record of games played per year with various injuries. That's a risk the Pelicans are better suited to absorb than most who are likelier to balk at his over $20 million a year price tag.
The Nets' recent commitment to Claxton ($97 million over four years) suggests that Sharpe's upside with the franchise is as a low-minute backup center. Sharpe has shown flashes, but not enough to yield a first-round pick. Collins can fill a need as a power forward next to Claxton, as he's younger (almost 27) and taller (6'9") than Johnson.
But as the Nets rebuild, Collins may just be an intermediate step with a shorter contract. He may earn more than Johnson over the next two seasons (with a player option for 2025-26), but Collins' deal is shorter and could be a valuable expiring contract next summer. The Nets project to have more cap space than any other team in 2025 (in the $67 million range).
Collins reduces that slightly but doesn't significantly diminish Brooklyn's spending power. Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.
com and follow him on X/Twitter @EricPincus ..
