Brandon Ingram was among the biggest names to be traded at the NBA trade deadline. Because his contract is set to expire, it was imperative that his new team, the Toronto Raptors, extend him as soon as possible.
That’s exactly what they did, as he agreed to a three-year extension worth $120 million. However, Ingram had a richer offer on the table from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram Turned Down a More Lucrative Extension From New Orleans
After ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Ingram’s newest extension, Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line that the Pelicans offered Ingram an even richer contract that he turned down.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that Ingram, in fact, passed on a four-year, $160 million deal from the Pelicans that would have kept him in New Orleans, meaning there was some serious money left on the proverbial table in his quest for more,” Fischer wrote.
That would seem like an ill-advised decision on Ingram’s part to pass on that kind of money. However, Fischer explained why he took less from Toronto than he would have from New Orleans.
“Maybe Ingram will have the chance to land one more sizable contract right before he turns 29, when the projected salary cap for 2027-28 rises more than $30 million above 2025-26 projections. It’s likewise true that Ingram’s new deal with the Raptors almost certainly wouldn’t have surfaced in free agency this summer with so few teams on course to hold significant cap space,” Fischer wrote.
It still is a risk, nonetheless, on Ingram’s part. His talent as a player is undeniable, but his biggest issue has been his inability to stay on the court. He’s played more than 70 games exactly once in his NBA career — and that was his rookie year in 2017.
The tea leaves point to Ingram betting on himself and then some by agreeing to this contract with the Raptors. He and the Raptors have a mountain to climb because they are among the worst teams in the NBA, and Ingram is nursing an injury.
For both to accomplish their goals here, Ingram will have to stay on the court and prove himself a good fit for the Raptors’ roster. Toronto added another All-Star-caliber player, but there’s a reason why Ingram has only made one All-Star team, and that was five years ago.
Toronto giving him that deal demonstrates their confidence in him, but it’s on him to reward that.
