NBA Trade Deadline: Insider Gives New Update On Potential Brandon Ingram-Hawks Deal

The NBA trade deadline is less than 48 hours away and there are plenty of rumors flying around a number of teams heading into Thursday.

The Atlanta Hawks are going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch leading up to Thursday's deadline. Players such as Clint Capela, Cody Zeller, Larry Nance Jr, and Bogdanovic have been mentioned as trade possibilities, but will the Hawks move any of them? The team announced last week that star forward Jalen Johnson is going to miss the rest of the season and that is something that could potentially alter their plans at the deadline. Bogdanovic has been out for the Hawks and has been listed as "Not With Team". Both Capela and Nance are expiring deals. It feels like the Hawks are going to make a move, but what would that look like, and for who?

There were was a report last week linking the Hawks to New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram in a deal and there was a small update on that tonight. NBA insider Michael Scotto at Hoopshype had this to say about a potential Ingram-Hawks deal, including a team that potentially eyeing De'Andre Hunter:

“The Atlanta Hawks are among the teams who’ve called the New Orleans Pelicans to gauge the price tag on forward Brandon Ingram, league sources told HoopsHype, and as reported by The Stein Line. The Hawks have explored the trade market on veterans Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic, as previously reported by HoopsHype. Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter has also drawn trade interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources told HoopsHype. In talks between the Hawks and Pelicans, league sources told HoopsHype the Pelicans would be reluctant to take back future salary, including Bogdanovic, who’s owed $16 million for the 2025-26 season and has a team option worth $16 million for the 2026-27 season.”

You can read the full article here.

When making an appearance on ESPN's Get Up program last week, NBA insider Brian Windhorst had an interesting bit of information regarding a potential Ingram/Hawks deal:

"Brandon Ingram is a guy who has been on the trade block for months. But, over these last few days, I am seeing a little bit of a warm up out there in talks involving these two players (Ingram and Bulls guard Zach LaVine), specifically keep an eye on the Atlanta Hawks. They just lost their star wing Jalen Johnson for the season, they may start to get interested in making a move, especially for Brandon Ingram so keep an eye on that."

.@WindhorstESPN gives the latest update on trade talks surrounding De'Aaron Fox, Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine and Brandon Ingram 🍿 pic.twitter.com/D7dGD1qtC7
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 31, 2025

While most teams in Atlanta's situation after the injury to Jalen Johnson would not make a move for a player like Ingram, it is not that simple for Atlanta. They do not control their own draft pick in 2025, 2026, or 2027 due to the original Dejounte Murray trade with the Spurs back in the summer of 2022. The Hawks have no incentive to lose for the rest of the season and they are still in the mix for a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.

There are a lot of layers to a potential Ingram/Hawks partnership. What is going to be the cost to trade for Ingram? He is on an expiring contract and reportedly has wanted a huge deal in the offseason, is he just a rental for the rest of the year or do the Hawks have an interest in re=signing him this summer at the right price? Ingram has an injury history as well. He would be a good fit on the team. The Hawks prioritized getting bigger, longer, and more athletic at the forward/wing spots this past offseason and Ingram fits that mold. He has played in 18 games this season and is currently averaging 22.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.5 APG on 47% shooting from the field and 37% from three. He would step right in to where Johnson was playing and start for the Hawks.

There is still plenty of time ahead of the deadline for something to materialize between the Hawks and the Pelicans. Keep an eye out for further developments.

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