New Orleans Pelicans looks on against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at the Paycom Center on April 21, 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: The user expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading or using this photograph, the user agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of the /Keynote USA/Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cooper Neill//Keynote USA/Getty Images)” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/B1LCtBGt2maFxmAOb1D56Q–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2024-06/38005ac0-355e-11ef-bfff-a908e0da8ae2″>If the Pelicans and Brandon Ingram can’t come to terms on an extension, a trade could follow. (Photo by Cooper Neill//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
With the 2024 NBA Draft now complete, the league’s transaction market is expected to continue with business activity over the weekend, league sources told Yahoo Sports, as several clubs look to add players for next season or reshuffle salaries ahead of the 2024-25 business year beginning when free agency opens on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
According to sources, Thursday’s second round of the draft saw the Denver Nuggets, for example, send three future second-round picks to Charlotte in order to move Reggie Jackson’s $5.2 million salary. It’s a move that should open up needed flexibility for Denver as the NBA staff prepares for the departure of Nuggets forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope via free agency after the veteran declined his contract option. player for $15.4 million on Thursday.
There are several other big decisions regarding player options and contract guarantees looming over the next 48 hours, perhaps none more important than Paul George’s $48.7 million option to remain with the Clippers, which he could conceivably decline and join Caldwell-Pope on the open market. Another wing player who should factor into that mix of perimeter talent, Brandon Ingram, is expected to be available to be traded in New Orleans, league sources told Yahoo Sports, should Ingram’s representation and the Pelicans’ front office fail to work out a long-term extension deal before Ingram enters the final year of his current contract in 2024-25.
David Griffin told reporters after Wednesday night’s first round that the Pelicans hope to retain Ingram and that Ingram wants to remain in New Orleans. The Pelicans, however, have never paid the luxury tax, and New Orleans will likely have to draw a line at some threshold below Ingram’s maximum potential salary.
According to sources, Ingram has been listed among Philadelphia’s targets this offseason, somewhere below George, though it’s not exactly clear where Ingram falls among the Sixers’ proverbial group of targets to slot in between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Should George snub Philadelphia, the Sixers could easily acquire Ingram for their $60 million-plus cap space, but could Philadelphia’s three first-round picks be enough for Ingram?
League personnel keep mentioning Cleveland as a possible alternative for Ingram, but there’s no easy path to making that deal work with the Cavaliers. While Cleveland has interest in Ingram and values his skills, sources said, the Cavs’ staff has remained reluctant to break up the team’s core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, as NBA figures continue to prepare for Mitchell to sign a lucrative extension. Without parting ways with Allen, who has long been on New Orleans’ radar, it’s difficult to find a path to bring Ingram to Northeast Ohio. (Another center the Pelicans had been eyeing, Nets big man Nic Claxton, is now committed to four more years for $100 million in Brooklyn.) Cleveland also doesn’t want to part ways with Garland, sources said, even if his representation at Klutch Sport tries to boost his own craft.
Atlanta is another popular destination that league figures have pointed to for Ingram, but there have been no substantive talks between the Hawks and Pelicans, sources said, since the two teams discussed trade scenarios regarding Dejounte Murray before the February trade deadline. Atlanta had been focused on figuring out its No. 1 pick in this week’s draft, and then the Hawks were set on moving into the second round, sources said, as Atlanta ultimately landed on Nikola Đurišić. The Hawks are certainly expected to now evaluate trade possibilities for Murray, All-Star guard Trae Young, Clint Capela and the rest of their roster players not named Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher, sources said. Young has the Pelicans in mind as a potential next preferred team, league sources told Yahoo Sports, in addition to the Spurs and Lakers, but Young’s fit has never made much sense for a New Orleans situation that currently features CJ McCollum in its backcourt.
A team to monitor for Ingram would be Sacramento. The Kings have been weighing avenues to acquire several wings, sources said, from Kyle Kuzma to Zach LaVine, and Ingram could be another option for Sacramento to explore, sources said. The Kings have veteran wings Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, whom Sacramento placed on the trade market at the last deadline, sources said, and their two salaries combine for a near-perfect combination to meet the $36 figure. million expiring from Ingram by 2024-25.
Utah’s next steps
The Jazz could have more than $40 million in cap space — plus salaries for veterans like John Collins and Jordan Clarkson and a reserve of future draft capital — to potentially add any player on the market from Ingram to George. That’s why Utah forced its way into the Mikal Bridges sweepstakes, sources said, before the Nets ultimately shipped their 27-year-old wing to New York.
The Jazz are in a similar position to Brooklyn before it gave up Bridges: a non-contending roster with a 27-year-old centerpiece on a valuable contract that the entire league had interest in. In Utah, that would be Lauri Markkanen, who has already been named an All-Star unlike Bridges and will enter the final year of his contract if he doesn’t find an extension with Utah in the coming days and weeks. At this point, the Jazz are expected to prioritize finding an extension deal with Markkanen, sources said, and Utah officials made that clear during their outreach to Bridges. That won’t stop rival teams from calling and registering their interest in Markkanen, in the hopes that Utah might decide to punt like Brooklyn, if the Jazz can’t land someone close to a second star for Markkanen.
Utah is clearly looking to be opportunistic. There were tangible discussions between the Jazz and Hawks, sources said, about Murray at the trade deadline. Whatever big moves may ultimately emerge from Utah this summer, beyond handling the Markkanen situation, could present one of the most interesting circumstances of the NBA offseason.
Meanwhile, the Nets are considered open to doing business with veterans such as Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, sources said, even after re-signing Claxton.
The Bucks continue to be mentioned by league personnel as a team to watch in the trade market. Milwaukee was able to land a potential center of the future in Tyler Smith with the 33rd pick in Thursday’s second round. Smith could perhaps help replace Brook Lopez as early as this season, if Milwaukee is serious about parting ways with its veteran center who is about to enter the final year of his contract. The names of Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis also continued to be mentioned as candidates for a trade, sources said.
The Warriors have another fascinating math problem to solve. Golden State could very well agree to increase Chris Paul’s guaranteed amount of money for the 2024-25 season in order to push back the team’s de facto deadline to retain his $30 million salary for next year. Golden State already guaranteed Kevon Looney’s $8 million after Gary Payton II exercised his $9.1 million player option. All three players, plus forward Andrew Wiggins, are considered potential outbound contracts for the Warriors as Golden State attempts to reshape a contending roster around Stephen Curry.
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