OKC Thunder Land New Orleans Star Forward In Mock Trade

Oklahoma City doesn't need any more star power on its roster, but the idea of winning an elite scorer to either start or be the team's sixth man doesn't sound like the worst idea. In a recent mock trade, the Thunder are projected to receive New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.

In return, the Thunder would give up a trio of young players, featuring guards Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort and forward Ousmane Dieng. The deal would also send a top-five protected 2027 first-round pick to New Orleans.

Ingram's spent the last six seasons with the Pelicans and has continued to show, despite his team's success, that he's among the most skilled scorers in the NBA. This year, he's averaging 22.2 points and 5.6 rebounds on 46.5% shooting. In his entire nine-year professional career, Ingram has shown on a consistent basis that he can score the ball at a high level and be an efficient player.

Trade rumors have swirled around Ingram for quite some time. Despite acquiring talent to surround Ingram in New Orleans, the Pelicans have struggled to win games. The Pelicans sit at 5-21 this season, good for the worst record in the Western Conference. Despite Ingram having another solid season, his team can't find ways to win games.

Ingram's status in New Orleans appears to have been in question for quite some time, but the teams' lack of success might be an indicator of Ingram's trade availability at this year's deadline. Ingram's on the last year of his deal, making $36 million in his final season on contract.

That makes his trade availability for OKC more intriguing. If they were to trade for him, he'd have the option to leave in free agency after a short period of time with the team. The Thunder are not actively hurting for talent and though Ingram is a high-level all-around scorer, finding a role for him might be a challenge.

In his career, Ingram has played under 30 minutes per game in a season only once in his rookie year. That streak certainly would be in jeopardy if he were to move to the Thunder, which might steer Ingram away from a prospective move to Oklahoma City. The opposite scenario would be Ingram's potential desire to play for a contending team. He's only been to the playoffs twice in his six years in New Orleans, both of which resulted in first-round exits.

There's a large group of players the Thunder could add to boost its chances at making an NBA title run. There's also an argument in place that because of its early-season success, they don't need to make any moves at the deadline. OKC isn't a perfect team by any means, but for right now, it has a formula for winning basketball games. Making a mid-season trade wouldn't necessarily disrupt that, but there's a chance it could. The moves, or lack thereof, that Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City front office elect to make around the deadline will be something to keep an eye on as it comes closer.

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