Let’s grade the Brandon Ingram trade for the Raptors and Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram has been on the trade block since the summer as he entered the final year of his contract this season. The New Orleans Pelicans finally found him a new home less than 24 hours before the NBA trade deadline.
The Toronto Raptors acquired Ingram in a deal that brings back Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, a 2026 first-round pick originally belonging to the Indiana Pacers, and one second-round pick, according to ESPN insider Shams Charania.
Ingram has missed 27 games in a row with an ankle injury as part of a nightmare season for the Pelicans. Still only 27 years old, Ingram is a one-time NBA All-Star (2020) who has averaged at least 20 points per game for six straight seasons. He’s going to a Raptors team that isn’t much better than New Orleans at 16-35 overall, but clearly valued getting a talented veteran to join their young roster.
Let’s grade this deal from both sides.
Raptors grade for Brandon Ingram trade
Another year, another bizarre Raptors trade at the deadline. In 2022, the Raptors traded a first-round pick for Thaddeus Young. In 2023, Toronto traded a first-round pick for Jakob Poeltl that became the No. 8 overall selection. In 2024, the Raptors traded a late first-round pick for Kelly Olynyk. Now they’re shipping out the Pacers pick — their return in the Pascal Siakam trade — for Brandon Ingram.
In each instance, it feels like the Raptors overpaid for a player who didn’t really fit their timeline. The deal for Ingram is another example.
Ingram is a really good player. The 6’8 wing is a volume scorer who can get buckets at all three levels — though he usually prefers the mid-range. Ingram actually upped his three-point volume significantly this year in New Orleans, attempting 6.4 threes per game and making them at a 37.4 percent clip. He shot fewer than four three-pointers per game in each of the two seasons before this one.
Ingram is one of the most mid-range happy shooters in the league. He’s finished in the 99th percentile of mid-range frequency each of the last three years, according to Cleaning the Glass. He typically hits between 45 and 48 percent of his mid-range shots. Ingram’s scoring efficiency is usually right around league-average, give or take a few points in each direction. He’s had a usage rate above 30 percent in two of the last three years, giving Toronto a player who can soak up offensive possessions when he’s on the court.
The Raptors have been one of the worst teams in the league all year, making them an odd candidate to add a player like Ingram. Are the Raptors really in a race to get back to the play-in tournament? That’s what it feels like after this trade.
Adding Ingram shouldn’t ruin the Raptors’ tank this season. They’ll still have a decent chance at the No. 1 pick and Cooper Flagg, and should be picking in the top-7 regardless. They are parting with the Indiana Pacers’ 2026 pick here, which is a decent asset with some upside. The Pacers are pretty solid this year at 28-21 overall, but Myles Turner is a free agent this summer, and you never know how injuries could affect a team.
The Raptors need blue chip young players more than anything else. They should get a shot at one in the 2025 NBA Draft, but it feels like they have no interest in tanking ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft at the top of the class. That’s an odd choice for a team that’s far away from contending right now.
What kind of contract will Ingram get in the summer? It’s hard to fully evaluate this trade without seeing if Toronto can keep and at what price point. Toronto’s roster is already getting expensive with Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and R.J. Barrett on big deals even before you factor in what they’ll pay Ingram.
Ingram is a good player who is still on the early end of his prime. The Raptors protected their own first round picks here, and didn’t give up any players that hurt the roster. It’s usually a good thing to add a good player without breaking the bank, I’m just not sure what Toronto’s long-term plan is to turn into a contender.
Raptors grade: C+
Pelicans trade grades for Brandon Ingram deal
The Pelicans are one of the worst teams in the league this year at 12-39 overall. Missing Ingram to the ankle injury for such a long stretch has been one of many reasons why the Pelicans are having a year from hell.
New Orleans always seemed open to re-signing Ingram, they just didn’t want to give him a max contract. This trade means negotiating with him this summer isn’t their problem anymore.
Brown’s contract is expiring, and Olynyk will expire next year. Moving on from Ingram clears the way for Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones to have bigger roles in the offense, and helps keep the books clean.
The Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick is the big prize here, and now the Pelicans hope Indiana takes a step back. Getting a second-round pick in this trade is nice, too. It didn’t seem like Ingram had much of a market on the trade block, but credit New Orleans for still getting solid value back for him.
Pelicans grade: A
