Of all of the possible trade targets we’ve discussed for the Detroit Pistons, Brandon Ingram is one of the most difficult to evaluate.
As we saw last night, the Pistons could use another scorer when other teams collapse on Cade Cunningham. They could also use another guy who can make plays when the game slows down. Ingram is averaging a career-high 24 points per game right now while adding six rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor overall.
There is no doubt Ingram is a good player, and that he is available, but there are challenges when it comes to his possible fit with the Pistons. The first is Trajan Langdon, Ingram’s former GM in New Orleans. He didn’t sign Ingram to an extension when he was in the Big Easy and didn’t seem interested in trading for him in the offseason when the Pelicans made him available.
It’s possible Langdon doesn’t see Ingram as a viable option.
Ingram would also cost a chunk of the Pistons’ young talent in a trade, something they may not be interested in considering he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season looking for a big payday.
For the Pistons to give up anything of value for him this year, they’d have to have assurances that he’d re-sign and do it for less than a max deal, which he may have no interest in doing.
Ingram has also been injured a fair amount in his career, playing over 65 games just once in an 8-year span. Given that, and the fact that few teams will have cap space next summer, Ingram may not get the contract he wants and may have to settle for less annually or a shorter deal.
The Pistons could just wait until then, sign him as an unrestricted free agent, and not have to worry about giving up talent acquiring him in a trade.
There are also questions about fit with Cade Cunningham, as both guys like to work in the mid-range and are essentially point forwards.
Like I said, Ingram is tough to evaluate, has some red flags, and I've been back and forth on him several times myself over the last two seasons.
But Brandon Ingram’s game has one big change in it this season that makes the final problem less of a red flag.
Detroit Pistons rumors: Brandon Ingram is launching 3-pointers
There was a lot of talk this offseason about whether Ingram would adjust his game moving forward, as he took just 3.8 attempts from long range last season, which makes his fit with Zion Williamson tricky.
Ingram talked about it in the offseason and about how he shot more 3’s when he had a point guard who could get him the ball and take some of the playmaking duties off his shoulders.
This season, Ingram is launching a career-high 6.8 shots per game from 3-point range, the type of volume the Pistons could use from a forward, as right now they aren’t getting much from anyone other than Tim Hardaway Jr. from the wing.
This doesn’t mean the Pistons should run out and trade for Ingram, but he’s one to watch, as the Pistons have a hard time attracting free agents, so if they can get an All-Star talent without giving much up, he might be worth a flyer.
The Pelicans, who have started 3-6 just like the Pistons, will get progressively more desperate as the trade deadline approaches and they risk losing Ingram for nothing.
It will be interesting to see if Langdon has any interest in one of his old players, a guy who has big-time talent but also big question marks when it comes to the Pistons.