The Hawks were connected to a number of clubs and players amid trade rumors surrounding Trae Young and Dejounte Murray with the Pelicans and Brandon Ingram being the most popular.
The pair matched up well on paper. New Orleans needed a point guard to maximize their roster, while Atlanta had a surplus of point guards and a potential need for another scoring threat on the wing like Ingram could provide.
However, once a deal was announced, Murray went to the Pelicans but Ingram wasn’t included. The Hawks received Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller (via sign-and-trade), and two future first-round draft picks in exchange for their All-Star point guard.
It left many puzzled, but NBA insider Brian Windhorst shed light on the situation, reporting that the “Hawks weren’t interested in taking Brandon Ingram.”
Brandon Ingram is a guy that will give a club 20+ points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists consistently. He could’ve provided the Hawks with a secondary scoring option next to Trae Young, but there’s a clear reason why Atlanta didn’t have interest in the 6-foot-8 wing.
“As it turned out, Atlanta didn’t have much interest in giving Ingram his next contract,” William Guillory of The Athletic wrote.
Ingram is entering the final year of his current deal and will be looking to get paid next offseason. The price is expected to be close to a max contract, which would pay him north of $50 million per season.
Maybe he’s worth that, but the Hawks shouldn’t be the ones willing to take that gamble. Atlanta finally has some semblance of breathing room. A trade and subsequent contract extension would immediately put the Hawks into a corner.
Brandon Ingram wouldn’t have put the Hawks over the top, and that should be the goal, building it from the ground up.
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Photo: PI/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
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