Pelicans have a big decision to make on Brandon Ingram: He 'wants to stay here'

The New Orleans Pelicans have a decision to make surrounding one of their stars, but it's hardly that simple.

New Orleans must weigh not only whether to ink Brandon Ingram to an extension, but also their organizational philosophy as to when is time to push all the chips to the center of the table. In a crowded Western Conference littered with contenders, that only becomes more complicated.

"We’re not gonna be an apron team, so when we go in, we’d better be right, because we don’t get to do it twice, three times, four times like some teams do," said Pelicans executive VP David Griffin after Day 1 of the NBA draft. "You can either horde all the talent and never have to make a decision and just pay your way past it — or you can be right."

So far the Pelicans, one of just two teams in the NBA to never pay the luxury tax associated with exceeding the salary cap, haven't made any moves to signal this is the time to change that. They appear set to let center Jonas Valanciunas and wing Naji Marshall walk in free agency. There's been no indication on an extension for Ingram, with the 26-year-old set to earn $36 million in the final year of his current deal. The Pelicans didn't make any splashy moves in a less-than-deep 2024 draft class, settling for a sensible project pick in athletic Baylor center Yves Missi at No. 21.

Still, based on Griffin's statements the team knows it either has to be bold and make changes or potentially be left behind. The upward progression has been there, going from 36 to 42 to 49 wins in the three seasons since Willie Green took over as head coach. That was only good for a play-in spot this year in a historically strong west, and they've yet to advance past the first round of the playoffs, this year being swept by a Thunder squad that blew past the Pels in their development cycle all the way to the top of the conference this season.

Griffin made it clear there's been no edict in any way from team owner Gayle Benson to curtail spending, though there is a clear understanding that they can't simply throw caution to the win and repeatedly by their way out of mistakes like some other teams around the league.

One option that's emerged in recent days is a potential trade for Hawks superstar Trae Young, who reportedly has the Pelicans as one of his preferred destinations, along with the Lakers and Spurs. That'd be a big, aggressive move, but it'd also be one that pushed the Pels to those salary cap peaks they've never climbed into before. Young is currently in the third year of a 5-year, $215 million deal signed prior to the 2022-'23 season and is scheduled to make $43M next season.

There have already been a handful of teams that have worked to improve their rosters via trade, including the Bulls and Thunder swapping Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso and the Knicks sending a slew of picks to the Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges. The Knicks also handed OG Anunoby a 5-year, $212 million contract signaling they're going all-in with their current build.

"There were teams that were very aggressive already this offseason that were theoretically behind us, and that’s why I saw we need to be aggressive," Griffin said, echoing his comments from his end-of-season presser. :I think it’s really a positive thing for our organization that we’ve won more games three years in a row, that we’ve built what we’ve built in terms of players wanting to stay here. That’s tremendous. That’s not why we’re doing this. We’re doing this to win and we’re doing it to win at the highest level, and you’re not going to do that by not being aggressive and that should be really evident."

But will those aggressive moves include Ingram? That remains to be seen, with the player embroiled in a host of trade scenarios already this offseason. As Griffin explains it, if it were up to Ingram himself he certainly wouldn't be packing his bags.

"Brandon wants to stay here and he believes in what we’re building and that’s meaningful for us," Griffin said. "It’s meaningful for him. I think it’s meaningful to his agent, and at the same time there is a financial reality that we all deal with."

Ingram is eligible for a max extension worth $208 million over 4 years. It's an option that certainly wasn't helped by the close of the most recent regular season that was marred by a late knee injury and rough performances in the biggest games of the year. It certainly wasn't representative of the type of player Ingram has been for New Orleans, with averages of 23 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds since arriving as part of the Anthony Davis trade in 2019, but it is a lasting memory for a team that has to weigh it's contending aspirations against the reality of roster-building.

"We’re excited about Brandon," Griffin said. "We know he’s excited about us, and usually those things yield good results one way or the other.”