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-1.